We Are Young
by koa-chan
Summary: AU. They're teenagers, they're young and they can worry about love and life. A collection of character and relationship-centric, interrelated stories about some students of Fairy Gakuen. / NaLu, GaLe, JerZa, GruVia, Fraxus, Elfgreen with other pairings on the side. / Chapter 15: Freed
1. Track 01: Don't Let It Be Love

**A/N: **Hello, author here! You will be reading my first attempt at a multi-chap Fairy Tail fic and my third attempt at FT in general. This is 'We Are Young', now before you get to reading, let me tell you about several inspirations and notes for this fic.

First off this is a fic primarily inspired by the Fairy Gakuen OVA and Yoshikawa Miki's Yankee-kun to Megane-chan. So I'm bringing you a universe where our main characters are simple High School students. This fic will be a series of character-centric chapters. What I love most about Fairy Tail is that the characters have very human flaws and problems on their own, while together they face these big magical, will-destroy-the-world-as-we-know-it situations.

So I set up a High School AU and for every chapter, I'll pick a character or two and give you a glimpse of their normal person problems. Of course, they're teens and they don't have to deal with world-dominating villains so they can be silly and free. They have to deal with worse things, though: like love, self-confidence issues, the friendzone, "the rebellious stage", irresponsible parents and their friends who'll ruin everything for them. I mean, duh - it's high school.

And because it matters, there will be: NaLu, JerZa, GaLe, GruVia, ElfEver, FrAxus, AlBis, and teeny weeny weeny RoWen (bc I'm still not really comfortable with this one)

First up (and timely, because everyone's still dying from Ep. 154): The Titania. Remember that one moment when beautiful, graceful, brave Erza almost fainted when she heard that Alzack and Bisca got married? Yeah. It was awesome.

* * *

******WE ARE YOUNG  
**Track 01: Don't Let It Be Love  
..aka "Erza Has a Boyfriend"

_"I hope I don't fall head over heels 'cause I know how it's gonna feel._  
_When it crashes and it burns, it'll be too much."_  
- Bowling for Soup

.

Fairy Gakuen, like any other high school, is a busy affair in the mornings. Students were just coming in, ready to start their day of learning-...

Oh, who am I kidding? This is Fairy High: some were rowdily running past the school gates, some trying to make their way to school in peace, some were hurrying up because they have homework to copy-.. err, work on, while two in particular were trying to beat the living lights out of each other.

Lucy just got off the car when she was almost knocked off her feet as two boys wrestled their way past her and towards the school building. She turned to see Natsu and Gray trying to kill each other with their weapons of choice: a bottle of tabasco sauce and a pack of ice respectively.

"OI, LUIGI, LAST ONE TO CLASS WILL BE CALLED UGLY FOR THE WHOLE WEEK!" Natsu shouted as he punched Gray in the face. "AND WE'RE WAAAAY AHEAD OF Y-" He was cut off when Gray punched him too.

As the boys ran faster, Lucy shouts, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING LUIGI?!"

"You alright, love?" Lucy turned to see Loke looking at her worriedly from the driver's seat.

She sighed, then smiled at her thoughtful bodyguard. "I'm used to it." she said as she accepted her schoolbag from him. "You should get going now."

The bodyguard opened his arms and Lucy just rolled her eyes and gave him what he wanted - a hug. He was mumbling about parting with her for even a minute breaking his fragile loyal heart. Lucy simply pat his back and said, "At ease, lion." Finally, Loke withdrew and got back in the car to head home.

"Luigi has a boyfrieeeennndddd!" Natsu teased from a few meters ahead, still struggling on his match with Gray.

"MY NAME IS NOT LUIGI!" With expert precision, Lucy turned and threw her school bag towards the pink-haired young man's face, knocking him to the ground. Gray quickly got up but Lucy was already running towards them. The blonde grabbed her bag and then swiftly stuck out a leg, tripping Gray and making him land on a barely-recovering Natsu.

Then she ran inside the school building because SHE WILL NOT BE CALLED UGLY FOR THE WHOLE WEEK, DAMMIT.

That's when it really started.

It started the way Juvia's favorite shoujo manga starts - Lucy was there to witness it. She had just managed to gain a two-floor advantage against Natsu and Gray in their race when Lucy caught up to their school's Student Council President, Primary Disciplinary Officer and Official Terror.

"Good morning, Erza!" the blonde greeted cheerfully.

Erza Scarlet smiled back. "Good morning, Lucy. You're running?"

"On a race with Natsu and Gray."

"Who's winning?"

"Me."

Erza chuckled. "They'll never win if they're too busy ignoring the third contestant." _Really,_ Lucy thought, _Fairy High's 'Titania' isn't really scary when she's in a good mood._

Then, as the two of them rounded a corner, the usually proper, serene and graceful Erza almost fell back to the floor as someone bumped into her. The Titania would have landed in quite an ungraceful position but the person had reached out a hand to grab her arm and steady her.

Lucy looked up at the guy - blue hair, red tattoo on one of his cheeks and a very shocked but apologetic expression on his handsome face. Erza looked too, but her usual sermon of _'Please be more responsible and watch where you're going to avoid accidents, thank you!'_ was gone.

There was something in the way they looked at each other that stopped Lucy from asking Erza if she's alright (which was really the proper thing to do, but): Erza and the handsome young man were more surprised than they're supposed to be.

"Erza?" voice smooth, deep, and questioning. It snapped both girls out of their daze.

Erza blinked and straightened herself - "Jellal?"

Lucy has never heard of that name before.

The young man stood there surprised for a while, but then he smiled and chuckled. "No, it's Mystogan."

"Mysto!" For the first time, Lucy saw Erza blush as she quickly stepped back and held up both hands, looking at the ground. "Oh, I'm sorry! I-.. I thought, well since he and I are- I mean, I... I'm really sorry, you surprised me! You're here! I didn't know! Uh, why?"

Mystogan laughed gently and put his hands in his pockets. He looked back at Erza fondly. "It's good to see you. I just transferred today. I didn't know you studed here."

"Really?" Erza smiled pleasantly, but Lucy noted a little light in the red-head's eyes. "You guys are back in Magnolia, then?"

"Yes." he nodded. "Is that all you want to ask, though?"

Lucy saw Erza hesitate, and then the red-head expertly diverted the topic. "Of course! Well, class is about to start! Do you know your classroom yet? I have to get to my class too, but maybe I can help you."

Mystogan shook his head. "I'm fine. I've got myself covered, I was just heading for the toilet..."

"You're heading the right way." Erza said, then gestured to the direction she and Lucy had come from. "Straight down this hallway."

"Thanks." Mystogan pat her shoulder and walked past the girls. "I'll see you around? You and your friend?" Finally, he addressed Lucy with a pleasant, polite smile.

The blonde nodded slightly. "Lucy Hearfilia! Please call me Lucy."

"Mystogan. Nice to meet you, Lucy.", then back to Erza. "Maybe I'll look for you on my break."

Erza simply nodded. "You'll find me in 3-A. Let's catch up sometime."

"3-A. I'm on 3-B." The young man walked away with a small grin on his face. A few good meters away, he called, "I'll tell Jellal you want to see him! He's still in love with you!"

Erza blushed and stuttered, and for Lucy that was another first: "W-WHA- MYSTO!" But the guy had already escaped to the boy's washroom.

"I just saw you blush and stutter over a boy." Lucy said, continuing the walk to class and smiling slyly at Erza.

As her coping mechanism, Erza adjusted her red-rimmed glasses and tried to look stern. She failed. "I-I was surprised! I haven't seen them since I was in gradeschool, they moved out of Magnolia with their parents and baby sister!"

"That Mystogan guy is nice..."

Erza didn't answer that.

"So who's Jellal?"

Erza didn't answer that too, but Lucy has ways. Lucy flipped open her phone and proceeded to text Juvia and Levy every single detail.

* * *

Both bluenettes were on Erza by the time Erza and Lucy reached the classroom.

Erza spilled it the undignified way, all stammers and blushes. Really - the girls didn't know it would be _so freaking easy_.

It was adorable, watching Erza splutter out the beans: "W-W-Well when I was a kid, I-I-I... errr... n-no one l-liked me much because I was an orphan and b-because I didn't like to play w-with girls very much, a-and then Jellal became m-my friend and we... w-w-well, we were..."

"You were...?" Levy chided. Lucy and Juvia leaned closer.

"We w-w-were v-very good f-friends! I.. I g-guess we were close?"

"So who is this Mystogan-san?" Juvia asks.

"Mysto i-i-is Jellal's twin."

"TWIN?!" the girls exclaimed.

"Y-Yes, they're identical! T-Though Mysto liked to stay indoors, so I d-d-didn't always g-get to play with h-him much, but me and Jellal, w-we s-s-see each other ev-everyday... Sadly they left Magnolia when we w-were eight. I d-didn't have other friends until Cana and Gray came along."

"Erza, why are you stammering?" Lucy asked, because she didn't think it's all that embarrassing to have a very good-looking childhood friend back in town.

"It's embarrassing!"

"Why?" the girls asked in unison.

"I n-never forgot that b-b-before they left, Jellal said that when they come back, h-he'll marry me! I know he was a k-kid and he w-was probably joking, but s-s-still-"

But then there were screeches and then Erza was listening to them asking every single detail about every single moment of the marriage promise. Erza had to spill more beans when Levy shook her back and forth and Lucy threatened that if Erza's not telling, she'll be asking Mystogan: "W-Wha- He was telling me about how they were g-going to move out of t-town and t-then when I said it'll b-be sad w-without him he s-said not to worry b-because he'll come back be-b-because he still had to m-marry me-"

Erza ended her story with, "HE WAS A KID!"

"HE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU!" the three insisted. "HE STILL IS!"

"Don't believe in his stupid twin brother!" Erza knew then that she's in deep trouble - she's in the company of a romance novel writer, a romance novel reader, and Juvia. Yeah - Juvia. It can't be any worse than that. "I'M SURE HE FOUND OTHER GIRLS!"

"We're sure he remembers you!" Levy insisted, gripping Erza's hands. "We're sure he will still want to marry you!"

Lucy added. "You're beautiful and if those two are identical, he IS drop-dead handsome! Your babies will be beautiful!"

And finally, Juvia grabbed Erza's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "True love knows no bounds!"

Erza gave up - they were believers.

It's not that she wasn't a believer herself - it's just that it has never really been her priority. The idea of romance has always taken her aback. She was the kind of girl who lets the others have the dolls and the shiny jewels and the tea parties. She was the kind of girl who is content to watch while she eats her strawberry cake - that is, if she wasn't busy brawling with the boys, shouting at them to behave.

Erza is eighteen and many boys found her beautiful, but for them she was always that one girl you have to admire from afar. Natsu and Gray were out of the question: they were practically her brothers. There were still others who wanted to try but backed out at the last minute, though. Erza was the girl who was out of anybody's league. Erza didn't know that, but her friends do. And if Erza knew, her friends think she wouldn't really give a damn.

She patiently told Levy, Lucy and Juvia that she wouldn't like to indulge in relationships for the meantime. She has her priorities.

They shut up for a while, but Levy mumbled "And now we wait." to which the other two nodded dutifully. Erza was too busy defending herself to notice.

Lucy, Levy and Juvia keep a silent agreement - _'We wait because this guy might just be the one.'_

They believed in 'the one' and Erza didn't really think that was practical.

* * *

When lunchbreak hit, Erza was thankful that the girls had yet to press on the matter with her again. Levy had gone with Jet and Droy to get some lunch in the cafeteria. Juvia had gone to look for Gray to give him his bento. Lucy and Erza headed over to the Student Council club room.

"Erza, Lucy!" Max, their treasurer, greeted them as they entered. "I was just about to leave. Laki asked me to duplicate the cultural festival flyers."

"They're ready so soon?" Lucy asked excitedly.

"Yep. That's our Laki." Max said with a wink.

"Good. Thanks, Max." Erza smiled. The guy simply gave her a thumbs up sign and then went out. On her table, their secretary, Laki, left a note saying she's busy with a research assignment in the library. They didn't mind that she was always out. Laki was very responsible.

Erza, president, sat on her own desk and started shuffling through various papers. Lucy had her own tasks to do as the vice president. For a few minutes, they started to work, then Lucy stood up and told Erza that she was going to the cafeteria to eat.

Lucy was just finishing up last minute notes when there was a knock on the door.

It couldn't be Natsu or Gray - they just barge in, or even Cana, Levy or Juvia - they knock and then let themselves in without prompting.

Lucy got the door and greeted cheerfully - "Yes, how may I-... YOU MUST BE JELLAL." she said, doing a double-take as she stared at the blue-haired young man with a red tattoo on his cheek, wearing the uniform of Fairy Gakuen's prestigious neighboring school, Sorciere High. The blonde quickly smiled and said, "Erza is right here, please OH PLEASE come in. I'm Lucy if you should call me anything but you won't, because I'll be leaving you two alone now!"

The young man named Jellal was too dumbfounded to say anything, but he tried: "Uhhh-"

"YOU'RE WELCOME!" In a rush, Lucy pulled who must be Jellal inside the office as Erza stood up from her chair and tried desperately to get her to stay. Lucy had grabbed her bag and quickly said something about Natsu waiting for her. "See you 'round! Go for gold, Erza!"

As she closed the door behind her, Lucy could feel the awkward atmosphere inside the office. It was practically leaking out the room.

She heard Erza clearing her throat and then, trying hard to keep the stammer away, say "Jellal! It's so g-g-good to see you! Please, make yourself comfortable! Take a s-seat, I just met M-M-Mystogan earlier-"

"U-Um... Thanks, yeah he told me... Say, did I do anything to the girl-"

"Lucy?"

"-yes, to Lucy-san, err, is she always like that?"

"She's just... really in a, um, hurry. Take a seat, please!"

Lucy heard shuffling as she hurriedly texted Juvia and Levy - it seems Levy's 'wait' prediction wouldn't last too long.

"Mysto said you were studying here, so I thought I'd quickly drop by. I really wanted to see you."

"O-Oh... um, yes, it's nice seeing you too..."

_'Go, Titania.'_ Lucy inwardly cheered. _'Just don't stammer!'_

"We just moved back in. I got in to Sorciere."

"Yeah, the uniform. I see that... Congratulations, only the smartest could get in there!"

"Thanks. Umm... I thought I'd just ask how you're doing. It's been so long and you're the only friend I have from here-"

"I'm sure you'll make a lot of new friends now that you're back!" her voice was dignified and Lucy can practically see Erza regaining her composure. She's back to being brave Erza Scarlet who can conquer all the delinquent gangs bullying Fairy High's students.

"Erza?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay? Your face is red..."

"No, I'm perfectly fine. Um, would you like some tea?"

"Oh, if it wouldn't be too much of a bother. Yes, thank you."

Awkward silence followed. The only sounds heard were the sounds of china teacups being set on the table. Lucy saw Juvia and Levy just heading hurriedly towards her. She gestured for them to hurry up and listened through the office door.

Lucy then heard Jellal break the ice: "I almost forgot. I thought it'd be rude to visit without warning or bringing you anything. So to make up for it, I brought you a strawberry cake-"

There was a sound of a china slamming against the table followed by Erza's excited shriek: "OH MY GOD - CAKE! I LOVE YOU!"

Lucy gaped and looked at Levy and Juvia who both made it just in time for the declaration.

"Well, that escalated quickly." Levy said, although she herself looked every bit shaken.

The girls think that Jellal is goddamned lucky, knowing the Titania's only weakness and knowing when to use it.

Erza Scarlet - Fairy High's Most Outstanding Pupil, Student Council President and Official Terror - was quick to succumb to strawberry cake specially on tense situations.

Jellal Fernandez is daaaaamn lucky.

Nevertheless, the girls give each other high fives and think, _'Finally!'_

* * *

On afterschool cleaning duty, Natsu and Gray were, for once, not arguing and were focused on sweeping the floors. Erza dropped by to check on them (because last time, they burned down half the school when they were only supposed to clear the chalkboard).

"Hey, you two." Erza greeted. "No burning down anything this time, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." the two said monotonously. They were being good. They didn't want to make Erza mad-

Then Natsu said, "Hey Erza, you have a boyfriend now?"

Erza paused, looking at Natsu's curious expression. "What?"

"The girls said someone came over to bring you cake and it's not the delivery boy." Natsu said, then he pointed at Gray. "I asked Gray what the hell that meant and he said 'What the fuck, Erza has a boyfriend'."

Gray stiffened. Erza glared at him, then turned to Natsu, smiling a patient smile. "Natsu," Erza said in a tone she usually used for preschool children. "Gray was wrong-"

Suddenly Gray said, "What's his name?"

"Jellal- WAIT, NO-!"

"Hah! Got you!" Natsu said, pointing at the girl mockingly. Gray sniggered, and then both boys high-fived.

Erza whipped her shinai out of nowhere. She's been known to do that.

The boys look at her in alarm. They've made Fairy Gakuen's kendo champion take on her kendo pose...

"Natsu, run." Gray mumbled, and then both of them charged towards the window and jumped out screaming for forgiveness.

Erza made a mental note to deal with _'the girls'_ too.

God help her if Mira hears about it.

But what Erza had to deal with at the moment is the fact there's this part of her that's practically _nagging_ on herself, insisting that maybe some romance wouldn't be bad at all.

* * *

.

.

.

**A/N:** That was first chap. I really just found OVA!Erza with the glasses and the blushes ("De-De-De-D-Deito..?") so adorable... And yes, if you saw in-universe easter eggs on this chapter, I enjoyed writing those. ;)

As for updates, I've got up to Track 10 written down and under revision. Now before I'll post the next chap, I'm waiting for feedback so I know what you guys think. ^_^)V

**Coming up next:  
"Luce, I Want to Punch Your Dad In the Face"**

Yep, you'll have yourselves some NaLu.


	2. Track 02: Breakable

**A/N: **Thanks for the positive feedback and the follows, everyone! You will now be reading WAY's 2nd installment. This one is longer, more in-depth, and more emotional. Its mood is also _waaaay_ different from Erza's

A running issue with Lucy's character is her relationship with her father, and how the guild is her family now. I simply tried to write how teenage, human, not-a-mage Lucy will deal with this.

This one's got plenty of NaLu. So enjoy.

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
****Track 02: Breakable  
**..aka "Luce, I'll Punch Your Dad In the Face"

_"Have you ever thought about what protects our hearts?  
Just a cage of rib bones and other various parts.  
So it's fairly simple to cut right through the mess  
and to stop the muscle that makes us confess."_  
- Ingrid Michaelson

.

Lucy has had a good day. After that whole fiasco with Erza and Jellal, they didn't stop teasing Erza throughout the school day. It was too good - a pleasant surprise. After school, Natsu barged in the Student Council Office and promptly asked her to hurry up and go home with him. Usually Erza would have scolded him for being rude, but after chasing Natsu and Gray around the school for teasing her, she was tired. She simply congratulated herself on that painful looking black-eye on Natsu.

The pink-head slumped on the couch. "Luigi, finish that already, we have to go home now!"

Erza raised an eyebrow but kept quiet. Laki and Max exchanged looks. Lucy looked up from her work. "Why?" This wasn't unusual for Natsu to want to "go home now", but she had to know why, nevertheless.

"Dad's cooking oden just because. He asked me if you wanna come over and have dinner."

"Oden?" Lucy smiled excitedly. Igneel's oden is the best she'd ever tasted. The Dragneels owned the "Fire Dragon" restaurant downtown. Even though they specialized in spicy foods, Igneel was still a top-notch cook in everything he made. Lucy knew that the man sometimes just leaves his restaurant to his crew early to bum out at home. Today must be one of those times the man randomly thought to cook something. Lucy checked her watch. "Give me five minutes."

"What about us, Natsu? No invitations from your dad?" Max said with a fake hurt look.

"He just said ask Lucy." Natsu stated simply, then raised an eyebrow. "Why, ya wanna come eat too? We wouldn't mind."

"Max, Lucy is eating with them because she's Natsu's girlfriend. Are you Natsu's girlfriend too?" Laki remarked absently, with a sly smile of her face.

Suddenly Erza stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "WHEN DID THIS START?! YOU ARE BOTH TOO YOUNG-"

"We're not going out!" the pink-head and the blonde both raised their hands in alarm and Erza immediately calmed down. The alleged couple both glared at Laki. Erza was quick to believe what she hears and is downright conservative about things like teenage flings (she basically wanted to kill everyone who teased her about Jellal being her boyfriend because "WE'RE TOO YOUNG-"). Everyone also knew that when Erza is angry, you may just as well commit suicide to save yourself from the pain.

The whole school has been betting for some time now on when Lucy and Natsu are going to get together. No one knew if they're just messing with the bets or if they're really just comfortable with the way things are. All they knew was that from the moment Lucy transferred to Fairy Gakuen for her second year in high school, she'd been Natsu's other half. Lucy is Natsu's girl, and that was that.

Lucy finished up her work within the promised five minutes and then she said her goodbyes to her fellow officers, letting Natsu drag her out the school. They half-jogged out the school gates, then stopped when they heard a familiar voice call out to them.

"Oi, Natsu, Lucy-chan!" Gildarts Clive shouted from his seat in the little police station. "Don't stay out too late!"

"We're already heading home!" Natsu called back. Their resident police officer had been stationed in the police booth just between Magnolia's most populated junior high and high school and he knew almost all the kids in town. Gildarts had been known, for the kids who grew up in Magnolia, to be every little girl's big brother and every little boy's hero.

"Good!" the man said with a hearty laugh. "Kick him where it hurts if he tries anything funny, Lucy-chan!"

Lucy smiled. "I will!"

"I'm not like you!" Natsu shouted, then grabbed his best friend's hand and started running home. Lucy smiled as she ran alongside him towards the Dragneel residence just a few blocks down the road.

* * *

They called out 'Tadaima!' in perfect sync and as an answer, the Dragneels' blue cat, Happy, came running to them to welcome them home. Lucy automatically lifted the cat up as Happy jumped into her arms.

"Hey, Happy! Ya missed me, hm?" Lucy said, burying her face against the cat's fur.

Happy purred and Natsu scratched between the cat's ears before calling out, "How's the oden coming, Igneel?"

"Almost ready, kids!" Igneel answered from the kitchen. "Settle down and prepare the table!"

Lucy and Natsu both abandoned their shoes and then dumped their bags in the couch. Natsu went straight to take out some plates while Lucy was welcomed with a huge hug from Natsu's father, a middle-aged man with unruly dark red hair and a booming laugh to compete with Gildarts'.

Dinner has always been a lively affair even though the Dragneel residence only had father, son and cat. Lucy listened and laughed as Igneel and Natsu exchanged stories about their day at work and school. Happy was contentedly eating fish by Lucy's feet.

"How about you, Lucy? School going fine?" Igneel asked, turning to their guest.

"The day's been lovely, Igneel." Lucy replied cheerfully. "And your oden just made it twice better!"

"Glad you liked it, my dear! You should come by the Dragon sometime again, okay?" the man said with the smile that Natsu got from him. "Oh, how's your dad?"

At that, Lucy paused but then quickly tried to smile. "He's doing fine!"

Igneel looked at her with a knowing expression in his face. "Really? I saw that split-second sadness, Lucy."

"Oh, it's the usual for him. Work and then home." Lucy assured the man. "He's doing great. Healthy."

"C'mon, dad. Don't make Luce upset. She's enjoying the oden!" Natsu said, reprimanding his tactless father. "You're doing alright, aren't ya, Lucy?"

"Of course I am! Who are we talking about here?" Lucy gave him her winning smile.

"Fine, fine. I'll stop now." Igneel said with a content smile as he watched the kids continue with dinner. "Natsu, you walk our girl home after this, alright?"

"No, that's too much trouble already!" Lucy quickly said. "Loke said he'll pick me up, anyway, so don't worry-"

"Lucy has a boyfrieeeennndddd~" Natsu sniggered again.

Lucy pouted. "He's my bodyguard!"

"AND your boyfriend!"

"We're just good friends!"

"He calls you 'loooove'~"

"Yeah, well it's better than Luigi!"

Igneel laughed as the banter continued, like always, ending up with "Luigi, you're so weird!" and "Ugh, you're stupid!"

Loke picked Lucy up after she called and the blonde was promptly crushed by Igneel as she tried to say goodbye. Natsu's father was strangely fond of her, but that was alright. Lucy was used to weird - if she wasn't, she wouldn't be staying contentedly as a student of Fairy High. Besides, she liked the feeling of having a father figure. Wait, scratch that - she LOVES being 'daughtered' by Igneel.

"Had a great time?" Loke asked as he drove, glancing at Lucy who was sitting comfortably in the passenger seat.

"Best oden in the universe." Lucy simply smiled. "D'you guys have dinner yet?"

"Of course." Loke nodded, then stared straight ahead.

"Good, because really, that one time you all waited for me is just... ugh, never ever do that again-"

"Lucy, love." Loke cut her off, a blank expression on his face. That made Lucy turn to him. "Your father's home."

"Oh." Lucy looked away and out the car window, onto the lamplit streets of Magnolia. "He's early tonight, hm?"

"He was looking for you. Before I left to fetch you, he wanted me to tell you that he wants to have a word with you." her bodyguard said, stealing short glances at Lucy to check her expression.

"Alright." was all the Heartfilia heiress said. "I got it."

"Are you okay?"

"You would know." Lucy said, smiling bitterly. Silence prevailed for the rest of the way home.

"Yeah, I would." Loke cringed, looking straight ahead at the road as he drove. "I hate it when you're not okay."

Lucy chuckled. "Ditto."

* * *

It had never been an easy task, listening to the infuriated shouts between father and daughter. For the servants of the Heartfilia faction, as they stood worriedly on the grand staircase across the double doors of Jude Heartfilia's home office, it was hard listening to Jude berating his daughter, but it was even harder to hear Lucy shouting back because they knew that she loved her father and she didn't want to be angry with him, not even a bit.

"Should we come in?" Aries, one of Lucy's two personal maids, worriedly clung to her big brother Loke's arm. "Onii-sama, Lucy-hime is already crying."

Loke simply laid a hand on top of is sister's and gave her a reassuring look. Aries turned to Virgo, her older sister and Lucy's other personal maid, and to Supetto-san, the late Layla Heartifilia's personal maid, but the two women simply shook their heads. Finally, the young woman looked towards old man Crux, the house's old keeper, standing beside Lucy's old tutor Grandpa Belo and the manor's butler, Caprico. At the bottom of the staircase, the Heartfilia librarian Libon-san and their cook Eido-san were also standing, listening in.

"Lucy-chan will be alright." Grandpa Belo said.

"She has never cried in front of him for years!" Aries insisted, biting her lip as she realized she had raised her voice. "I'm sorry..."

She was right, they all knew. Lucy had cried after her arguments with her father but always on her own. Most times she turned to Loke and sometimes Aries and Virgo comforted her, but she always stood her ground against her father.

This time they were talking about how it was such a mistake for Jude to agree for Lucy to study in Fairy High, how her grades aren't as good as they're supposed to be, how she's not the top of her class anymore and how she wastes her time with her so-called friends.

The servants would disagree - their young heiress had never been happier with the friends she made in Fairy High.

After an exchange of stubborn arguments, they heard Jude come to a conclusion. "You're in your senior year but I'm sure if we show them your best grades, Sorciere will still be willing to take you in - after all you are the valued daughter of the-"

"Heartfilia Konzern, the most prestigious family of Magnolia!" - they heard Lucy finish bitterly for her father. "Valued daughter?! When did that happen, father?! I haven't been your daughter for years! I've been your trophy, I've been the bow on top of the fancily-wrapped box that's called your damned Heartfilia Konzern! Family business? It would be if you treated me like family!"

"Lucy Heartfilia, listen to yourself!"

"I've been doing that since you won't do it for me, father!"

The servants were too busy listening in to pretend to mind their own business as Lucy barged out the room, away from more of her father's hurtful words.

The Heartfilia heiress had tears running down her cheeks as she paused at the sight of them all standing by in wait, worried for her.

"Princess..." Virgo reached out, but Lucy simply gripped the maid's hand and gave it a light squeeze. Lucy tried to smile at the young woman, but it looked strained.

Lucy sniffed, then looked at Loke and held out a hand. "Keys."

Loke hesitantly took out the car keys but before he dropped them in his mistress' hand, he said, "No overspeeding."

"I promise." Lucy said, smiling the smile that none of the Heartfilia servants would be able to resist, even when she's so obviously faking it. She caught the car keys tossed towards her and after a whispered "Thanks", descended the grand staircase and went out the front door.

She began sobbing again as she drove away from the mansion, dialling the first number on her list of friends. She put the phone on speaker mode and listened to the ringing. "Goddammit, pick up."

* * *

Cana was eating her late dinner for the night as she watched Natsu and Gray make exagerrated shooting sounds while they were playing a game in Gray's old and beaten up PlayStation. For all the new consoles out there, Gray has always been loyal to this one. Ditto for Natsu, who abandoned his Xbox at home to accept his rival's Zombie Apocalypse challenge.

Cana swore that the two got every target in the game committed into memory. They'd been playing it since they were ten and the brunette only wondered how the hell the CD isn't scratched beyond recognition yet. Cana had also thought that after her extended shift at her part-time job, she'll be coming home to some peace and quiet, with her flatmate busy doing homework. But no - Gray had invited Natsu of all people to PLAY.

She simply chewed on her microwaved dinner as she read through the incomprehensible word problem that was her physics homework.

Cana didn't grow up with Gray and Natsu for nothing - she was used to their antics, but she was trying to have a nice meal while doing her homework and they were cursing each other and the zombies in the game were noisy and there were shooting sounds and someone's phone was ringing-

"GRAY, FUCKING PICK YOUR PHONE UP, YOUR GIRLFRIEND MUST BE WORRYING IF YOU'RE STILL BREATHING!" Cana shouted.

Gray and Natsu didn't stop to look at her, but Gray called back, above the zombie and shooting noises, "No way, Juvia already called a while ago!"

"Wait, that's mine!" Natsu said, pausing the game as he got his phone from his pocket. Gray and Cana simply watched as he raised an eyebrow at the caller's name and then answered the call in his usual happy tone. "Hey, Luigi! What's up?"

Cana simply smirked and went back to her meal and homework while Gray went to the kitchen to fetch himself a drink.

They both looked back, however, when Natsu paused and his tone turned serious. "Luce? Are you crying?" - a pause - "No, I'm at Gray's." Natsu said, glancing at his companions. "Ya wanna meet me at home? You're on your way? Who's drivi- Oi, LUCY, you be careful- What, you're outside?! The hell y'doing driving that car like it's a freaking Hotwheels?!"

Natsu stood up, turned to Gray and said, "Frosty, we're gonna have a rematch!" before barging out the door.

"That was weird." Gray said.

"Whose life are you living?" Cana simply rolled her eyes.

A few moments later, Gray was just turning off the console when Natsu went back in, a crying Lucy in his arms. Cana immediately dropped her meal and homework and ran to her friend. Gray hurriedly cleared the living room of the snacks and stray pillows as Natsu sat their unexpected guest down the couch.

"I'm so s-s-sorry for coming in like this..." Lucy sobbed. Cana noted the girl's hands shaking as she gripped her phone. Natsu was looking at the girl in concern, wiping freely-falling tears with his free hand, the other one wrapped around the blonde's waist. Lucy was leaning against Natsu weakly.

The brunette sat down on the blonde's other side and rubbed her back. "What happened, Lucy?" Gray listened in from the kitchen as he prepared a cold glass of water.

"I had a fight with my dad..." Lucy said, catching the hand that was carressing her face and twining her fingers against it instead. Natsu held her closer. "I'm really sorry, guys-"

"It's okay." Cana said firmly. "Keep going."

Lucy attempted a smile, but failed. "It's just... It was the usual at first, about me wasting his time and... and thinking of so many unnecessary things. We've been having that for so long now. I can take that, no matter how many times he just pushes me aside-" her voice broke again and tears started to fall again.

Cana bit her lip - she wasn't used to Lucy crying. Lucy was like this bright ball of happiness in their circle and even though Cana knew that the blonde had issues with her father, Cana didn't know it was this bad.

"He was thinking of transferring me to Sorciere and I wouldn't have that."

"Yeah. We know." Natsu said, smiling at Lucy reassuringly. "We won't let 'im take you away from us, Luce."

Lucy whimpered and nodded. "I know, but then I lost it and I shouted back at him. I didn't want to do that... I didn't want to-.. I didn't want to be angry but I'm so mad at him right now. I love him but I'm so hurt by everything he said and everything he's been doing and-... I-... I don't know what to feel-"

"Sssshhh." Natsu hushed her, letting go of her hand to stroke her hair as Lucy simply buried her head on his shoulder and silently sobbed.

To the side, Gray was torn on what to do, when to offer the glass of water to his friend or when to join in the huddle and pat the blonde's head like he always does. Cana was at a loss, too - she really had no idea on how to deal with the situation.

Natsu glanced at them. Then, seemingly reading their expressions, he simply nodded in dismissal as if to tell them 'I got this, guys'.

Cana nodded back and pat Gray's arm as she sat back down on the dining table. Gray simply sighed and drank the water himself - damn, he didn't know what to do with crying girls... plus, he wanted to punch Lucy's dad if he's really being that big of a jerk. Gray looked at their living room again - Lucy crying against Natsu - and the raven-head simply can't imagine how much Natsu must want to beat the living lights out of the man who hurt his best friend. Natsu's berserk button was his friends, but everyone knew that Lucy is his girl and hurting Natsu's girl is just the same as pushing ten berserk buttons.

"I just want to be a family again." Lucy mumbled. "He's just right down the hall, and all these years he's this total stranger - can't he be my dad for once? I miss my mom but I can't help but miss him more..."

"I feel like we shouldn't be watching this." Gray muttered, sitting beside Cana, who was looking down at her food numbly. When his roommate didn't answer, he peered at her face. "Yo, Cana?"

Cana quickly brushed the daze away from her expression and masked it with business. "If you don't feel like looking, then just don't."

Gray rolled his eyes. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing."

"This is about Gildarts, isn't it?"

"I said it's nothing." Cana insisted, half-glaring.

Gray simply stood up and crossed his arms across his chest, looking for something to do and finding it in the form of the dishes in the sink. He grudgingly mumbled, "People and their issues..." under his breath before he started washing the dishes.

Cana looked back at their living room, where her guests are having their own moment. For all the time she knew Natsu, this was one of the very few times she saw him look so calm and understanding. The pink-haired young man was holding both of Lucy's hands and nodding as the girl talked in a hushed voice.

Cana tried her best not to listen in, but she heard some snippets of the conversation.

"-you still gonna go home after all-"

"-he's still my dad, I still love him-"

"-just gonna walk in like nothing happened?"

"-have to sneak in through the back door, I guess-"

"Loke let you drive-"

"I didn't overspeed-"

"You were crying! I wanna-"

"-I'm alright-"

"-punch your dad in the face-"

"-I'm okay-"

"-and why are you sitting on Icepick's boxers?"

Cana looked back to them and Lucy looked down.

The awkward silence was broken when Gray dumped the plate he was washing and rushed back to the living room. "DAMMIT MY CLOTHES!"

The next moment, Natsu and Lucy were laughing as Natsu threw the alleged clothes out the window and Gray had to look for his pants before busting out the flat to get the "goddamned piece of cloth back I will kill you for this, firehead!"

"That was mean, even for you." Lucy reprimanded Natsu gently, wiping the tears from her eyes. The beginning of a grin was forming in her face.

"Feeling better now?" Cana asked from her seat and Lucy turned to her with a small, more honest smile this time. Maybe crying all that pressure out worked. "Good."

"So, Luce." Natsu said, grinning at his best friend just as Gray went in, muttering about the neighbor's dog and his now torn boxers. "What d'you say we beat Frosty up in shooting zombies?"

"I won't go easy on you." Gray said, booting up the PlayStation again. He was comforted by the fact that he can do something for his friend now.

Lucy smirked at him. Despite her puffy eyes and red cheeks, her friends can tell that she's back to being her cheerful self. Lucy is strong like that. "Challenge accepted."

The exagerrated shooting noises and the distracting zombie moans and groans were louder this time, but Cana wouldn't complain. She's just relieved that Lucy had stopped crying and that they have their little star back.

"Gray, why didn't you finish the dishes?!"

"I'm cheering Lucy up! Letting her win-"

"Frosty, you're just bitter because a girl's beating you up!"

"Haha! Taste my fury!"

"I was going easy on you."

"No, Luce's just BETTER!"

"I hate you all."

* * *

Lucy parked the car as quietly as she could, then called Loke to let her in. As she went in through the back door, the bodyguard looked at her with a reprimanding expression. "2 AM, princess? I knew you were upset but this is pushing it."

"Oh, shut up." Lucy said, punching the guy's shoulder playfully. "Your pajamas take all the dignity away from what you're saying, anyway."

Loke sighed. "Where were you?" He asked, not a shred suspicious, just honestly curious.

"Gray and Cana's." the blonde answered, taking off her shoes and rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Shooting virtual zombies."

Loke tried to muster up more dignity even in his sleepwear. "Is that how girls fight sadness now?"

"No, we're just crazy."

"Are you feeling better, then?"

"I'm much better." Lucy said with a reassuring smile, then returned the car keys. "Thanks for letting me go a while ago. Go back to sleep now."

Loke simply nodded. "You too, love. Sleep tight."

He watched the blonde heiress disappear to her room before locking the back door and going back to sleep.

Back in her room, Lucy had just changed into her nightgown when she heard tapping on her bedroom window. She almost screamed when Natsu and Happy came tumbling in her room.

"NATSU!" she hissed, trying to keep her voice down. "What the hell are you doing, I just dropped you home!"

"Ugh, didn't know the branch was that far." Natsu said, rubbing the back of his head.

"You jumped from the tree?" Lucy asked, rubbing her temples. She smiled kindly when Happy purred at her feet, and then she lifted the cat up. "Why are you here?"

"I brought Happy." the young man replied. "Thought he'd make you... well, happy."

Lucy sighed, then smiled and crouched down to Natsu's level, still hugging the blue cat. "Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably would've run to Levy instead?" Natsu asked, obviously guessing.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Ahhh, yeah. You got a point."

"Happy's sleeping over here tonight, 'kay?"

"'Kay."

"Gotta go home now before Igneel wakes up. Be a good boy, Happy."

The cat mewed in response. Lucy watched as Natsu walked towards the window and got ready to go ninja and jump towards the tree.

"Take care on your way."

"Hey, Luce." Natsu called, crouched on her windowsill and ready to jump anytime. "You good at counting?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow. Natsu was being weird - "Um, I guess so?"

The young man looked at her with his usual innocent expression and said, "Because, you know, your dad's one person but we're like, more than twenty people. And Igneel always told me to count what you have, not what you don't have."

Lucy smiled.

Natsu scratched his head, probably at a loss of how to say what he wanted to say, then he simply gave up. "So what I'm trying to say is we all love you so if your dad doesn't want to join in, leave 'im alone. It's his loss. He wouldn't know that loving you feels awesome."

Lucy wanted to cry again, this time in happiness, but she held herself. "Thanks, Natsu."

Natsu grinned. "And you shouldn't say sorry like fifty times when you cry on us. Nothing wrong with being sad."

The blonde simply nodded. "Yeah."

"See ya - nin nin!" Natsu did a ninja impersonation before jumping out the girl's window.

Lucy left the window open as she fell asleep with Happy curled up against her shoulder. She slept with a smile because she had a good day. It may not have been perfect, it may have had those little (or sometimes not-so-little) boughts of heartbreak, but her day had been good nevertheless.

Tomorrow, she decided, she'll wake up with a smile like always. The next thing she'll do is count, and then be happy.

* * *

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**A/N:** Tell me what you think of our AU!world so far.

I'm trying to keep every chapter different in writing style and/or mood. It's an experiment. And yep, I'm also keeping the one-song-per-chapter trend, although what the next song will be will always be a surprise. ;) I just always take all the feel-good, feel-young songs from my playlist.

Next chapter will be more fun because I'm a Juvia fangirl...

**Coming up next:  
"Juvia is Gray-sama's One and Only"**

It deals with Juvia and her... um, issues.


	3. Track 03: All Your Life

**A/N: **We're on our third track! Thanks for the reviews, everyone. Now before the chapter, let me answer some questions...

_Why didn't Lucy and Natsu get together at the end?_ - I honestly don't prefer fics where everyone pairs up one after the other. There are different phases and progressions of love and while I will ship these ships till the end of the universe, I don't want all their stories to be the same. Besides, not all chapters are gonna be "romantic" chapters too. Lucy's wasn't intended to be NaLu at all, but when you get Lucy, Natsu comes with the package and well... yeah, it went that way. :)

_Why are Gray and Cana flatmates?_ - I'm still world-building but that shall be partially answered in this track.

_Why is Loke Lucy's bodyguard?_ - Because I have a backstory for him and they all shouldn't be classmates, dammit. I already put Mysto and Cana in different classes, so yeah.

_Where are the others?_ - Soon!

_Why are the chapters so different?_ - Because our characters have different problems.

Now, finally I present to you the longest chapter so far, because it is the epic love story of-... well, basically it's just how Juvia and Gray got together and stuff, okay?

Hell, this is gonna be fluffy. Brace yourselves. Gruvia is coming.

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
****Track 03: All Your Life  
**..aka "Juvia Is Gray-sama's One and Only"

_"Lately I've been writing desperate love songs and mostly singing them to the wall.  
You could be the centerpiece of my obsession if you would notice me at all..."_  
- The Band Perry

Juvia, at seventeen, had a clear timeline: she fell in love when she was fifteen, confessed that love when she was sixteen and a half, and then she got that love returned exactly on her seventeenth birthday. This year, she had decided, was going to be her sweetest year.

Lucy came in with Natsu's cat early in the morning, teasing Gray about winning in a game of some sort, but Juvia only had her eyes for Gray. As soon as the raven-head headed over to her, Juvia was smiling her winning, adoring smile.

"Good morning, Gray-sama!"

Gray, whose seat was just in front of her, dropped his bag on his table and then sat on her desk. "Someone's happy today." Gray remarked, ruffling her neatly-combed hair, but Juvia didn't mind.

"Of course! Juvia started the day by cooking Gray-sama's lunch and filling it with love!" the girl held her hands to her chest as she declared her never-ending love for Gray and for cooking for Gray.

Gray simply chuckled and withdrew his hand. "Alright, alright. I get it. I'll be eating your cooking for lunch again."

Juvia looked hurt. "Is Gray-sama getting tired of Juvia's cooking?"

"No! Your cooking's the best." he quickly said, then yawned. "I'm just a little sleepy."

"Did Gray-sama stay up late?"

Gray rubbed his eyes. "Lucy kept me up all night. Damn."

Then he realized what he just said and quickly turned to see his girlfriend glaring daggers at Lucy and then taking out a literal dagger to stab the blonde with-

"Shit! Juvi, oi, not that way! She and Natsu were over our place last night and we played a shooting game!"

Juvia quickly calmed down. "Oh." then she smiled as if nothing happened, putting her dagger back in her bag... "Ahaha! Silly Juvia! Of course it was a game!"

Gray swallowed. "Y-Yeah- WHY DO YOU HAVE A KNIFE?"

The girl pouted. "It comes in handy sometimes."

"You're crazy." Gray said with a small grin, poking the bluenette's nose lightly. Juvia blushed. She knew that between them, it was Gray's own subtle way of showing affection. For a while she was content to watch her beloved Gray-sama as he greeted their other classmates who were just coming in. Max and Warren headed for him and soon Gray stood up from Juvia's desk and the boys started talking.

Juvia will never forget the day she confessed her undying affections for her Gray-sama. Everything had been a big surprise and it took the joint efforts of their friends to get them together.

* * *

_Levy was a good actress. She convinced Juvia to practice for her confession and pretend that Levy was Gray. Juvia had told them that she had been wanting to confess for months, and Levy was being her kind self, wanting to help Juvia by helping her practice what to say._

_"J-Ju-Juvia-... ahhh! Levy-chan, I can't do this!"_

_Levy had smiled then and pat her fellow bluenette on the shoulder. "I think you're just afraid, Juvia-chan! Why don't you try closing your eyes? It helps me when I'm afraid..."_

_Juvia nodded and, facing Levy, closed her eyes, clenched her hands together and stammered out her words: "Juvia has been admiring Gray-sama since the day they met, and.. and.."_

_Levy's voice urged her gently. "And what, Juvia? I'm listening."_

_Juvia, blushing harder than ever, covered her face with her hands and shouted out her confession: "Juvia is in love with Gray-sama! Juvia probably doesn't deserve someone as great and magnificent as Gray-sama, but... b-but Juvia thinks that Gray-sama has the right to know, a-a-and, J-Juvia would be honored to go out with Gray-sama, but of course Juvia will honor Gray-sama's decision if he chooses to reject Juvia because after all, Juvia is just another admirer, although Juvia can assure Gray-sama that Juvia loves him best..."_

_Lucy and Natsu were the miracle-makers. They fooled Gray into following them to where the girls were rehearsing. Well, that was the easy part - the miracle part was that they got Gray to NOISELESSLY go with them. How they did that, Juvia didn't necessarily know._

_When Juvia opened her eyes, Gray was standing in front of her, cheeks stained red and expression slightly embarassed, but desperately holding his ground. "Um, yo."_

_"G-G-GRAY-SAMA?!"_

_In her peripheral vision, Juvia noted a head of blue hair and an orange headband disappearing behind a nearby wall._

_It was a set-up._

_"Juvia." Gray sighed, he didn't know what to do - Juvia had been his friend and then this happens, and it all just feels so goddamn awkward._

_"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia tried to prevent her tears, but she eventually broke down. "Juvia is so sorry, Juvia will just go away now-"_

_"Are you cry- Oh, come on-"_

_The crying bluenette made to turn. "Oh no, you must hate Juvia now-"_

_"Hey-"_

_"Juvia understands! It was a bad confession!"_

_Gray gaped. "Wha-"_

_"Juvia promises Gray-sama that he will never see Juvia again-"_

_Gray grabbed both of her wrists and pulled her to face him. "Juvia, listen to me."_

_Juvia sniffed miserably. "Juvia will always listen to Gray-sama."_

_"Good."_

_Another sniff. Gray realized what he was doing and quickly let go of the young woman's wrists, then kept his hands in his pockets to keep himself from fidgeting. He looked away. "Is everything you just said true?"_

_Juvia looked up at him, still teary. "Juvia will never lie to Gray-sama!"_

_Gray rolled his eyes. "Does Gray-sama have to be Levy for Gray-sama to know what you feel about him?"_

_The girl looked down then, fiddling with her school skirt. "Juvia was just practicing..."_

_"Alright." Gray breathed out, trying to think of what to say next and making it sound rational. "Um, Juvia."_

_She didn't speak - she just kept fidgeting..._

_Gray sighed and although it took some effort, he finally got himself to raise a hand and pat the girl on the head. It was incredibly awkward but he thought that it was the least he could do to make her feel that everything's okay. "I'm probably the one here who doesn't deserve someone like you, alright? I'm not as magnificent and great as you make me out to be-"_

_"But Gray-sama is the best!" Juvia insisted._

_"Well if I am, you're twice that." Gray said, looking her in the eye, and Juvia did everything in her power not to melt._

_Juvia was looking at him as if she didn't understand a word._

_"Do you understand?"_

_"Juvia is still trying to."_

_Gray groaned. "Here. Thing is, I don't want you putting yourself down. Don't ever think you're just another admirer as you just said. You're my friend."_

_Juvia seemed to react the opposite way Gray expected her to. Gray wanted her to feel better, but the next thing he knew, she was about to start crying again. "I-I-Is Gray-sama permanently friendzoning Juvia?"_

_"NO!"_

_A little light of hope - "Gray-sama is just temporarily friendzoning Juvia...?"_

_"Noooo..." Gray was in the middle of giving up, but Juvia remembered how hard he persevered. "No one is friendzoning anyone-... Except Natsu and Lucy, but that's not important." - in the background they heard a 'WHAT?!' from someone who sounded like Natsu. "Just shut up and just answer my question for a while, okay? You want us to go out?"_

_"I-I-It would make Juvia so happy, but if Gray-sama-"_

_"Will the offer still stand tomorrow?"_

_Juvia opened her mouth to speak and seemed to struggle on how to answer, then, teary-eyed, she said, "T-T-T-The offer will stand until the universe ends, Gray-sama!"_

_Gray flinched at the high-pitched squeals from behind the bushes. "Then let me think about it until tomorrow, alright?"_

_"Juvia doesn't know how to thank Gray-sama for even considering!"_

* * *

They ended up dating for six months: Juvia in seventh heaven and Gray in an awkward but determined phase. He didn't want to admit it, but he's very fond of the girl. He found himself walking her home sometimes, going on the occasional movie and taking initiative to sometimes be the first one to text 'goodnight'. For Juvia it was a dream come true. For Gray it was a lot of adjustment, but when your girlfriend appreciates every tiny bit of effort you give to pay attention to her, you feel at ease. Gray took his time, but pretty soon, the girl clinging to his arm and cooking him lunch and calling him every night for a short chat had been part of his routine. Juvia was a sweet girl. It's hard not to appreciate her.

Juvia was just happy that Gray was accommodating her so well.

* * *

_It was on Juvia's seventeenth birthday when they came across Gray's other rival (he counts Natsu in) - Lyon Bastia ("that bastard" as Gray called him) and the young man fell in love with Juvia at first sight._

_Lyon was on the middle of his speech of true love, carrying Juvia bridal style in his arms, when Gray promptly pulled his girlfriend aside for a pep talk, saying things like being careful and not going anywhere near Lyon and not listening to Lyon, murdering Lyon if she feels like it..._

_Juvia blinked. "Is Gray-sama jealous?"_

_Gray blushed and pouted, trying to keep cool. "I have the right."_

_That caught the girl off-guard. She stared at the young man she adored with every fibre of her being and decided it was the right time to cry. Again. "Juvia is sorry that Gray-sama thought Juvia isn't being faithful!"_

_"Oi, don't be all mushy and teary and sorry and stuff! AGAIN!" Gray groaned, grabbing both of her hands and trying to get her to face him. Usually it was enough to calm her down, but this time she was definitely crying. Gray simply pulled her close so she can sob against his chest. "Calm down, Juvi. People are staring at us now."_

_"Juvia is so sorry.." she mumbled against his shirt - oh hey, he had one on._

_Gray, in defeat, slumped his head down on top of hers. IT WAS SO HARD TO TALK TO HER WHEN SHE'S CRYING! He sighed tiredly. "Juvia didn't do anything wrong."_

_"Gray-sama will always be Juvia's one and only!"_

_"Yes, Gray-sama believes in Juvia. Gray-sama's one and only is also Juvia so Juvia should stop crying now because Gray-sama is cool and Gray-sama doesn't do this sort of thing in public." Gray groaned out exasperatedly. He inwardly flinched when he realized that he had been talking in third person. 'Talk to Juvia long enough and you'll be talking like Juvi-.. err, her.'_

_Juvia cried harder. In happiness this time, but it was still quite a loud spectacle._

_"Oh, hell." Gray sighed._

* * *

Juvia smiled, remembering their 'milestones'.

Although she would have preferred it if that one time Gray finally called her a nickname, it had been 'honey', or 'love', or 'darling', or 'sweetheart'... and not 'waterworks'.

Gray was now with the boys at the back of the classroom, talking about something that Juvia wasn't able to catch. Juvia watched as Lucy joined in the fray, handing Happy to Natsu and the two teased each other about something before the blonde left the boys alone and went back to sit beside Erza. Juvia gets kinda envious of Lucy sometimes. Natsu practically drags her with him even when he's with the other boys. Gray had a clear line defined between his girlfriend and his guys.

Juvia looked down at her open math homework, a sketch of chibi Gray on the lower right corner of the page. It was a cute sketch. At the upper left, Gray drew a chibi version of her too, and she admired how her beloved Gray-sama has such artistic talent. She knew he was an ice sculptor but she didn't expect him to be good in drawing too...

Then beside her chibi-self, there was an arrow and he labelled her 'Waterworks'.

It's been several months since Gray told her that she's his one and only, and her beloved Gray-sama had been making her the happiest girl in the world. Almost.

Juvia was really really really happy, but it has been a few weeks since she last felt secure. Yes, Gray was still the 'i-don't-say-the-L-word' type of boyfriend that he is, but in the past few weeks, Juvia has been feeling neglected. It wasn't that she was being demanding - Gray-sama has his free will! - it was just that it looks like Gray had been keeping his distance. He approached her this morning with that little grin of his but Juvia is worried that Gray has been getting tired of her. Their last date had been last month and they haven't been going out together after school like those first few months... Maybe she was being paranoid again, and Juvia, like any other girl, went to her girl friends for help. On their recess, Lucy, Levy and Erza found themselves listening to the girl's laments.

"Gray-sama used to reply with a smiley! Now there are no smileys anymore!" she sniffed, looking disdainfully at her phone, and her friends think it might be a bit much.

"Juvia..." Lucy started. She wanted to be gentle but she knew that she should be harsh sometimes. "That's a bit much."

Levy agreed.

"Well, it's not really the smileys that Juvia is worried about the most." Juvia sighed. "It's something Gajeel-kun said."

At the mention of the name, Levy turned just a little more attentive. She and Gajeel had always been... an issue with each other. Levy envied Juvia in that aspect: Juvia and Gajeel were flatmates and Juvia was the only person Gajeel really talked to, as both of them were old friends. Levy wanted to be Gajeel's friend too, but for the meantime, the smaller bluenette prioritized her friend's problem. "What did he say?"

"Gajeel-kun said that Gray-sama is a jerk." Juvia says, disappointed.

"Juvia..." Erza kindly pointed out. "Gajeel thinks everyone is a jerk."

'Including himself.' Levy thought bitterly.

"He says Gray-sama doesn't treat Juvia right. He says Gray-sama doesn't even walk Juvia home or buy Juvia presents or tells Juvia that her cooking is good or appreciates Juvia enough, and he says that Gray-sama totally ignores Juvia. And Juvia realized that she can't even tell Gajeel-kun that he's wrong, except the cooking part because Gray-sama says Juvia's cooking is God. And Gray-sama still pays attention to Juvia, although he's always too busy with his parttime jobs or going to play with the other guys and... well, Gray-sama talks to Juvia in the mornings and at lunch but then... it's been almost a year since Gray-sama and Juvia began dating but Gray-sama hadn't told Juvia that he loves Juvia yet... Juvia knows that Gray-sama can be a shy person but-"

The girls stare, because Gajeel did have a point. No matter how affectionate your boyfriend is, you'd still want him to say that one word... even for once, right?

"...But I love Gray-sama so much and he's being so kind to Juvia. He told Juvia that she is his only one!"

But that one time really shouldn't be enough, Juvia knew. She still thinks that Gray cares for her, but she has also been overlooking the fact that she loves him more than he loves her. Everyone can see that. Everyone KNEW. Maybe it's enough for now. Maybe it won't be enough later.

Juvia was very worried about that. Maybe she was being the overly-attached girlfriend. It's just that...

"Juvia wants to know what Gray-sama really feels for her, but Juvia is afraid that Gray-sama will think that Juvia doesn't believe in him. Gray-sama cares for Juvia, but maybe he will.. get tired of caring for Juvia and..."

"Oh, Juvi..." Lucy sighed, rubbing the bluenette's back. Juvia is overly-emotional, but this time Lucy thought that Juvia is being reasonable for once. "We understand, okay?"

"You don't." Juvia groaned. They wouldn't understand - "Natsu-san gives Lucy-san everything. Erza-san has a suitor who will bring her cake everyday. Levy-chan has all of Jet-san's and Droy-san's attentions."

"Wha-... No!" Lucy and Erza were both about to start ranting about friendship and boundaries but Levy cut them both off.

"Here's an idea." the smaller bluenette started. "Gray would just blush and try to avoid the topic anyway, so why don't you ask Cana?"

Erza, Juvia and Lucy looked at her and Levy simply smiled cheerfully and confidently. "Cana?"

"She'll know." Erza nodded.

Levy followed up. "I grew up with them, Juvia. Cana knows Gray best. In that girl-best-friend sort of way, of course! And they've live together!"

Juvia looked down - of course Cana will know. Cana-san and Gray-sama had no parents or close relatives left and they're alike in a way that they're both independent, working multiple jobs at a time and saving up for college. At first, Juvia suspected Cana because they were so close, but Cana has proved over and over that Gray was her best friend and she just wanted to tease Gray because "HE'S SO GODDAMN STUPID SOMETIMES, MAN! AND SO SHY! HE'S NEVER KISSED A GIRL BEFORE - BELIEVE ME, I TRIED - OH HERE, DRINK UP!" Juvia was loved by her parents in France and she's living in the flat they're paying for her. Gajeel, being her only friend from her rebellious days as part of the Phantom Gang (which she has long since abandoned because she has resolved to be a better woman for Gray-sama) is her freeloader. Gajeel really didn't intrude much. He just came up to her flat one day, saying he disowned himself from his dysfunctional broken family and asking her if he can sleep in her couch. Of course, Juvia said yes - he was a friend, after all. So Gajeel slept on the couch with his black cat and he stuffed his belongings in one of the empty cupboards. Then he never left and Juvia never tried to make him leave. She felt less lonely when Gajeel was around. Besides, he may look like a delinquent, but Gajeel was a very honest and thoughtful young man. Gajeel willingly washes the dishes and cleans up on his free time.

So Juvia thought that what Gajeel is to her, Cana is to Gray. The two pairs were kind of an ironic parallel that way.

And if anyone asked her for advise on Gajeel, she will wholeheartedly answer.

So right - if Cana cares about Gray just as much as Juvia cares for Gajeel, Juvia will trust the brunette.

* * *

At lunchbreak, Juvia stood up excitedly and tugged on Gray's sleeve. He looked back at her and she said, "Gray-sama, would you like to have lunch with Juvia? Juvia cooked lunch for you..." She hoped she's not being clingy... It's normal for young couples to have lunch together, right? They've had lunch together before, too. Gray didn't seem to mind eating his meal with her.

Gray smiled but he removed her hand from his sleeve and squeezed it gently. "Save it for later, okay? I'll be going somewhere. We'll come back before classes start again."

"Where is Gray-sama going?" the bluenette asked, pouting.

"We got a bone to pick with some Oracion Seis bastards. I'm going with Natsu and Elfman and the other guys. Don't pout." he lightly pinched her cheek and she nodded timidly. "We got it covered."

Juvia watched him go as she held on to the bento. Just as he disappeared from sight, she realized something and immediately called out, "GRAY-SAMA, YOUR CLOTHES!"

"Aw, crap!" he dashed back inside the room in just his boxers, grabbed his clothes and then ran out without a second look back.

Gray hurriedly ate his bento two minutes before classes resumed because that was when they were able to come back - and then he thanked Juvia like always. He gained a bruise beside his lips from the lunch brawl but he insisted that he's alright. Juvia tried to fuss and the best she was able to do is get him an ice pack. He sighed and pressed the pack to his bruise anyway, shooting Natsu the finger as the pink-head sniggered at the entire exchange.

In the afternoon, he asked her where she was headed after school. "Juvia will be going straight home after swim club training."

"Good. Take care on your way." he said dismissively. Juvia had thought that he asked because he was planning on spending some time with her. She looked down, but quickly scolded herself because maybe she was being too hopeful. "I'll be going to the arcade with the guys."

Juvia tried not to dwell on the fact that Gray simply decided not to invite her, while in her peripheral vision, she saw Natsu practically pulling Lucy to go with them too, and they weren't even going out. She really hated the comparison, but again she envied how Lucy has Natsu, who paid her every bit the attention he can spare. Juvia dismissed the thought quickly - Gray-sama is different from Natsu-san. Very different. If Juvia wanted that kind of relationship, she would have fallen for Natsu-san, yes?

Still, she had to try. "Um, does Gray-sama want to drop by Juvia's flat after the arcade?"

"What would I go there for?"

"Maybe you could join Juvia and Gajeel-kun for dinner?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. Will eat out. See you tomorrow."

She watched him go again and then she took a moment to feel disappointed. She was about to head over to swimming club when a hand rested on her shoulder.

"We'll just have dinner without stripperjerk." a rough voice said.

Juvia looked up and met black eyes and a face studded with piercings. Gajeel. She defended her boyfriend: "Gray-sama will just be tired after playing in the arcade with his friends and Juvia understands that."

"Whatever. What are you cooking anyway?"

Juvia was worried about dinner for a while before an idea hit her and she looked up at Gajeel again. "Juvia is sorry. Juvia will be going somewhere else after swim club."

"Eh? What about dinner? Lily doesn't like my cooking!"

Juvia raised an eyebrow. "That's why we have cat food in the cupboard. So only Gajeel-kun suffers from his own cooking."

Gajeel sighed. "Fine. Where exactly are you going?"

"Juvia will have a short talk with Cana-san. What happened to Gajeel-kun's face?" Juvia tried to reach out to the bruise beside her flatmate's lips, but Gajeel leaned away.

"I was in the fight this lunch. Tag-teamed with Salamander and Frosty when the big guy got punched."

"Is Elfman-san alright?"

"'Course he is. Big guy that he is."

"Gajeel-kun should put something in his bruise."

"I'm alright- Wait." Gajeel stared at her, squinting his eyes and leaning forward to study her face.

Juvia cocked her head to the side and blinked up at him. "What is it?"

"You're sad, aren't ya?"

Juvia blinked repeatedly, looking away from him. "W-Wha-... Gajeel-kun?"

Gajeel shook his head and waved her away. "Nevermind. Just don't go crying on random people, you'll drown them."

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia looked at her best friend as he walked past her, slinging his bag behind his shoulder.

"Be back home before midnight or I'm locking the door!" he called, a few meters away.

Juvia simply pouted, then shouted back - "Juvia has keys! It's Juvia's flat, anyway!"

* * *

"Wow, someone's taking things seriously." the swim club coach, a blue-haired woman everyone called Aquarius, remarked as the whole team watched their star swimmer break her record for the third time in a single training session.

Juvia came up the water and asked for her time, which one of the other girls were quick to provide alongside another congratulations.

"Juvia is just focused today." Juvia said, waving away her teammate's compliments.

"Alright, next! Bisca!" Aquarius called. Bisca Moulin stepped forward and began stretching, then eased herself into the pool and began her laps. While the other girls watched, Aquarius sat down beside Juvia. "Lockser, you mad at someone?"

"E-Eh? Not really... Juvia is just thinking hard about something." Juvia answered her coach's questions.

"Most people have a decrease in performance when they're distracted, you know."

"That's just the way Juvia is..." the student looked down.

"If that's the case, I would've preferred you to be distracted if it's not so unhealthy." the coach rolled her eyes. "Boyfriend issues?"

Juvia looked up, then shook her head. "N-No! Juvia is distracted with other things..."

Aquarius huffed. "Oh, who're you kidding? Ya finally notice that you're too good for that boy?"

The girl followed her automatic urge to defend her boyfriend - "Sensei shouldn't talk about Gray-sama that way! Gray-sama is great and everything!"

The woman smirked and pat the girl on the head. "Aww, you're so in love! I remember me and Scorpio..."

With that, Juvia knew that her coach was a lost cause. When Aquarius starts talking about her fiancee, everything else disappears around the woman.

Juvia watched for a while as Bisca surfaced from the water with a happy smile on her face when the timer said that she made a good time. Bisca then grabbed a towel and sat next to Juvia, ignoring their frantically talking coach. "Don't listen to sensei, Juvi." the green-haired girl said. "I've known Gray since junior high and I can see he adores you."

"Juvia thanks Bisca-san for the encouragement." Juvia smiled, blushing.

"I think he's just having trouble with his priorities. You know, he has like five part-time jobs and senior year and you and his other friends. Give him time."

"Bisca-san is being very wise."

Bisca laughed. "Nah, it just comes with knowing people long enough! Besides, I share all my classes with Cana and she thinks it's really cute that Gray likes you very much."

"R-R-Really?"

"Yep! Have you talked to Cana yet?"

"N-Not yet... Juvia is just planning to."

"Good decision. I'm sure she can help you. Oh, if you'll hear her, you're gonna cheer up so much."

Juvia headed to Gray's and Cana's flat after swim club. Two friends have said the same advise now. Even though Juvia was comforted by Bisca saying Gray cares for her more than he shows after all, she is still going to make the best out of things. She may be a little bit paranoid but Juvia was just that kind of girl.

"Good evening, Cana-san!"

Cana blinked when she found Juvia in their doorstep. "Juvia! Come in. Gray's... out with the guys, I think."

"Juvia knows that. Juvia is here for Cana-san." the bluenette said with an enthusiastic smile, letting herself in. "Cana-san has no work tonight?"

"I took the night off. I got paid double yesterday anyway." Cana said, closing the door behind her guest. "What's up?"

"Juvia is sorry for visiting without warning..." Juvia started, sitting down on the couch. Cana had apparently been watching TV while eating snacks, being a couch potato for once. Juvia ignored the obvious smell of beer and the ten or so cans in the floor, although she wondered how in the world Cana is still standing and talking like a normal person.

"No, it's alright. I'm used to it." the other girl replied, remembering the previous night's affair with Natsu, Lucy and zombies. When Juvia looked at her in confusion, Cana quickly followed her statement up: "I mean, with people just barging in. We have a jolly set of friends, y'know that!"

"Oh." Juvia smiled, relieved that she was not really being a bother. She accepted Cana's offer of a pack of cheese-flavored potato chips.

"So what's up?"

Juvia sat down. "Juvia had been feeling bothered about something for a while now, and almost all of Juvia's friends told her that Cana-san can help me with it."

"Yeah, what is it, then?"

The girl went straight to the point. "Juvia is worried that Gray-sama is getting tired of her."

Cana stared.

Juvia blushed and looked down.

Cana sat up straight. "Excuse me?"

"Juvia is worried that-"

"Oh, no. WHY?"

"Huh?"

Cana chuckled, abandoning her snacks and then giving Juvia a very amused grin. "Gray smiles like an idiot at the mention of your name, silly girl! He's, like, this big stupid fanboy."

"Eh?" Juvia said, truly confused this time.

"He likes you very very very VERY much."

"Juvia knows that-"

"He's more patient and... I don't know, more... quiet? Trust me, Gray is freaking me out with the way he is since you two went out. It's kind of cute."

"Cana-san... Juvia doesn't understand." - Were they talking about the same guy..?

"Damn." Cana said, trying to stop herself from laughing. "The idiot's too shy to show you?"

"Gray-sama talks to Juvia normally-"

"Gray's stupid." Cana laughed this time. "He likes you a lot, Juvia. Believe me. And he's so NOT tired of you."

"Really?" Juvia said, a hint of a smile forming in her lips. "Everyone else says that but Juvia has been feeling like Gray-sama is growing distant. Juvia and Gray-sama's last date was... last month..."

"Knowing Gray," Cana said, rubbing her chin. "He probably just keeps forgetting about dates and stuff because he's too busy.. um, gushing over you."

"Juvia has never seen Gray-sama gush."

"Gray gushes the Fullbuster way."

"How is that?"

Cana cleared her throat, then crossed her arms across her chest, furrowed her brows and pouted in an effort to imitate her flatmate. When she spoke, her voice was several tones deeper. "I am Gray Fullbuster the mighty stripper and my girlfriend is a nice girl and, err, uhhh, she cooks good. Yeah. Um. She does cook good. And she's a nice girl. And she swims."

Juvia was confused.

Cana broke her pose and said, "That's the Gray Fullbuster equivalent of saying that his girlfriend is the most wonderful girl in the world and he's so in love with her."

"And the swimming part?"

"Oh hell, girl. I swear he's been trying his best to keep that nosebleed in whenever he sees you in your swimsuit."

"Really?" - because maybe it's the alchohol talking... but Juvia still hoped.

Cana looked at her with a confident smile. "Really! If you're gonna ask him about any other girl - and this is by experience - his default answer is that 'she's okay'. But for him, you're 'nice', and Gray is an idiot, so being 'nice' means a lot."

"Cana-san knows Gray-sama a whole lot... Juvia still couldn't fully understand but-"

"Oh hey, since you're here and I've never had nice girl bonding in a while, d'you wanna see Gray's baby pictures?"

* * *

Gajeel was a quiet, solitary guy and he really really liked being alone. That night, he was struggling with his math homework while eating instant noodles, his black cat Panther Lily eating the cat food Juvia bought. Gajeel didn't want to risk both their lives by trying to eat whatever he cooked.

They rarely have visitors, so it made him raise an eyebrow when the bell rang. He opened the door to see Gray panting heavily in front of him.

"Is Juvia in?" the guest said, trying to catch his breath.

"Isn't she at your place?"

"What?"

"Told me she's gonna talk to your flatmate. The drunk one."

"Cana." Gray blinked. Why would Juvia-.. Crap, his girlfriend must be over at his place crying on Cana's arms because he forgot what today is and promptly ignored her! Gray slapped a hand against his forehead and cursed. "Shit!"

"What?" Gajeel asked, one eyebrow raised.

Gray rubbed his temples tiredly. "I'm soooo stupid-"

"Oi, I'm warning you, Frosty. If you make Juvi upset, I'm gonna rip you to shreds-"

"I know! Gotta go now! See you at school, man!" Gray said hurriedly, then ran away.

Gajeel simply shook his head and closed the door. "She has poor taste."

Lily meowed his agreement.

* * *

When Gray barged in the flat, Juvia and Cana were giggling at their old photo albums. But he will ignore that - he had to apologize to Juvia.

He noted that she's not crying, but what if Cana whipped up the baby pictures to cheer the girl up because Juvia HAD been crying?

"Juvia!" he said, dumping his bags on the floor, catching both girls' attentions.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia said, almost dropping the album on the floor at Gray's raised voice. He sounded... angry?

"Look, I'm sorry." Gray said, looking troubled, crouching in the floor in front of her and shoving the photo album towards Cana. After freeing the bluenette's hands, he held them in his. "If I knew that today was our monthsary, I would've gone with you to eat dinner together. I was mean, okay? I'm really sorry. Please don't cry. Or have you cried already?"

They both stared at him.

"Monthsary?" Juvia asked, looking at him in confusion.

Gray paused. He had been sure! He set a memo on his phone for it ever since that one time he forgot and Juvia got upset... and then consequently all their friends (by all, he meant ALL, even the guys -coughGajeelcough-) got upset too and told him to go jump off a cliff and die for even forgetting such a special date. He had ignored the alarm earlier but when he checked the date, it was just right!

"Isn't it?" he asked.

Juvia looked at the calendar in the wall, blushed, and then looked at Gray. "Gray-sama, Juvia is sorry! She forgot too!"

"What?" Gray blinked. Juvia never forgot a monthsary!

Cana sniggered, but they ignored her.

"Juvia forgot what day it is today, too." Juvia said sheepishly. "Can Gray-sama forgive her?"

Gray grabbed at the chance of not being the bad boyfriend. He squeezed the young woman's hands. "Of course! It's not your fault! We're-.. uh, let's just call it even."

"Hai." Juvia nodded, finally realizing that all of their friends have been right after all. Gray's not as distant towards her as he lets on. He was still holding her hands as he practically kneeled in front of her. It was basically the most romantic thing he had done. Ever.

Gray then had time to question why she was in his flat in the first place. "So what are you doing here?"

Cana answered for Juvia, covering up nicely for her friend. "We're having some girl bonding, stripper. And it's for girls only. So go away."

"Give me a break! I ran all the way from the arcade and then to her apartment and then here!" Gray said, and all this time he was still panting heavily. He slumped his head against the nearest flat surface in front of him - which happened to be his girlfriend's lap.

Juvia blushed and stuttered, but after a lack of what to say, she simply stroked his hair. "Gray-sama can rest all he wants!"

"You're the best." Gray mumbled against the bluenette's skirt.

The girls exchanged looks and Cana winked at Juvia before she disappeared to the kitchen with the excuse of getting some beer to give the couple some space.

Gray sighed against his girlfriend's lap and said, "Gray-sama is gonna die." He couldn't feel his legs. He had been going on adrenaline since a while ago because he knew how much of a crybaby the girl is. He hated it when she cries because she always looked like she's gonna drown all of Magnolia.

"Gray-sama shouldn't say that." Juvia reprimanded gently.

"What is it with this flat and random lovebirds just deciding to make out in my living room?" Cana called from the kitchen. "Last night it was Natsu and Lucy-"

"We're not making out!" Gray shouted. He looked up at Juvia, who was smiling contentedly at him. "Hey", he whispered, reaching up to poke the girl's cheek. "We'll have lunch together tomorrow, okay? I promise I won't be going out with the guys to beat shit up. Not tomorrow, anyway."

Juvia simply nodded, feeling her chest well up with happiness. After a while of looking back adoringly at her boyfriend, tears started to fall from her eyes.

Gray doubled over. "Oh shit. Waterworks."

She finally burst into tears and all out sobs. "Gray-sama is being so kind! Juvia was being paranoid but Gray-sama cares about her after all! Juvia is so sorry for being paranoid! Juvia is so sorry because she thought Gray-sama doesn't love her! Juvia is so sorry for being clingy and paranoid and annoying and worrying too much and she must have been so-"

Gray desperately tried to get her to stop. "Juviaaaaa! Argh, don't-... don't cry, dammit! It's okay - you're crazy, that's fine! That's totally fine, okay?"

Cana laughed at him from the counter and teased him about making his girlfriend cry, Gray struggled to make Juvia stop, and Juvia was just content to cry her heart out because she was worried about nothing after all.

* * *

.

.

.

**A/N: **We're meeting more and more characters~

I just kinda figured out that after a bout of being bashful about it, when Gray finally addresses Juvia's feelings, he'll be mature about it. I guess that's just the way I see him.

Now yes, there will be more chapters on the boys' sides upcoming! But not all the stories here will be romance-centric. Take for example, the chap coming up next...

I'm not an Oreimo fan, but...

**Coming up next:  
"My Little Sister Wendy Can't Be This Cute"**

After romanchikku!moments, we'll have some quality sibling time...  
Can you guess?


	4. Track 04: Hot Air Balloon

**A/N: **I'm so sorry, I admit it, I forgot my deadline. XD But also, I had been swamped with work. :D It's partly because of Thanksgiving, hehehe.

Now, to make up for it, I'm posting THIS chapter, and the next one early. :D A word of warning for those expecting romantic fluffy times, though - both chapters are family-centric. Let me answer some questions this time again:

_*Will there be a Cobra/Kinana chapter?_ I sure do hope I can make one for them soon! :)

_*Where are the others?_ Some of them are here in this very chapter...

_*Do you remember me?_ YUKARI-CHAN, I DO - I SURE DO. I MISSED YOU. Let's celebrate the fact we're in the same fandom again! :P

Now, let's have the first in our back-to-back chapters. This one is world-building-ish, because I put in a lot of cameos from other guild members here and there. Care to guess who's the big brother smitten by our Fairy Girl Wendy?

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
****Track 04: Hot Air Balloon  
**..aka "Our Little Sister Wendy Can't Be This Cute"

_"So bored to death you held my breath and I tried not to yawn.  
You made my frown turn upside down and now my worries are gone."_  
- Owl City

Jellal was scrutinizing himself in front of the mirror. For the umpteenth time, he ran a hand through his spiky blue hair and pat his jacket down. After a few more minutes, and after hearing Mystogan's sigh, he finally stood back.

"Brother," Mystogan said without being prompted. "You look fine."

Jellal looked at his twin. "Of course you'd say that. I look like you."

"I mean," Mystogan sighed, putting down his book. "I knew what you were going to ask, so I answered."

"Wha-"

"Whenever you go out to visit Erza with cake, you stare at yourself for five hours in the mirror and then ask me if you look alright." then before Jellal can argue, Mystogan continued: "Pretty much like a girl in love."

"Oi." Jellal glared at his brother. Mystogan was cool, calm and collected at school and towards other people but when he was inside the house, Jellal just wanted to punch his sarcastic brother in the face.

But he won't. Not right now, because Wendy was sitting on the other couch reading her own book and smiling too amusedly to not be listening in.

Jellal glanced at their twelve-year-old little sister and then as if on cue, Wendy looked up from her book at looked at him. "Jellal-nii, why don't you buy flowers this time?"

The siblings looked at the paperbag in the table, which contained, undoubtedly, a box of strawberry cheesecake for one.

Mystogan let out a small grin. "YES, Jellal-nii. Why don't you buy flowers THIS time?"

Jellal hated it when his twin emphasized words. "Shut up, Mysto." - and then he turned with a patient smile towards Wendy and said, "Please ignore whatever Mysto-nii says. Flowers, I believe, are for courting ladies and while Erza is a very... um, attractive... lady, I am not courting her."

Wendy frowned. "But Mysto-nii said-"

"He lies."

Mysto then raised an eyebrow in honest confusion this time. "Wouldn't too much cake make a girl fat, though?"

"...She doesn't seem to mind." - then he followed that up with "She's... athletic, so she keeps fit. I think."

Wendy spoke up again. "Jellal-nii, you always look so happy whenever you go out and buy cake and then go to her."

Mystogan took the liberty to explain, "He's in love-"

Jellal quickly cut his brother off. "She's a special friend-"

"TOTALLY IN LOVE."

"Just shut up, brother. Please. For your own good."

"You read manga, right, Wendy? Then you can see he's just smitten."

Wendy looked back and forth from his brothers and then nodded slowly. "Yes, all signs do seem to point there..."

"Manga is not a reliable source." Jellal scolded.

"Manga is where most of my ships eventually becomes canon!" Wendy said.

Jellal sighed for the umpteenth time in that conversation. "I give up. Think what you want, we're just friends and the cakes do not have any hidden agendas. Erza is an understanding, strong and beautiful young woman who has her priorities straight and I believe as old friends we are just catching up to each other, no romantic intentions whatsoever..."

Jellal looked up to see Mysto smirking at Wendy, and Wendy blinking up at him.

"What?"

"Mysto-nii, you're right. Jellal-nii is in love."

"WHA-" From the corner of his vision, Jellal noted Mystogan raising a fist in success.

Wendy continued. "He's just feeling friendzoned and he thinks after being separated for like seven years or so, he's not good enough for Erza-nee."

"I am done here." Jellal declared, rubbing his already aching temples and picking up the cake. "I'll be... back for dinner." With that, the blue-haired young man trudged towards the door.

Mystogan turned to his sister. "I'm proud of you, Wendy."

"I HEARD THAT!" - Jellal shouted from just outside the house. His brother and sister laughed out loud.

Mystogan let out one last chuckle of amusement before turning back to his book. Wendy looked at him for a while. She indeed got her love of books from her brother. This one, in particular.

"Mysto-nii, you don't go out much..." Wendy remarked.

"I've always been this way." Mystogan answered patiently with a shrug.

"You have friends, though, right?" the girl said, all of a sudden uninterested with her reading.

"Of course." Mystogan replied. The other students at Fairy High were crazy, but they were good people and he had gotten used to them in just one week of his stay. Plus, they didn't mind that he was silent - the most talkative he had been was with Erza because he was teasing her with his brother. At Fairy High, even though he was quiet, he didn't feel left out, and he considered them his friends. In his former high school, he had been an outcast because he was quiet and he mostly kept to himself. This new school didn't seem to mind that. Even this morning, his classmate Alzack invited him to go with the other guys in their class to watch a movie. Mystogan politely declined, saying he had other plans for the day, but he did appreciate them inviting him even though they didn't know him that much yet.

"It must be nice." Wendy said. Then she turned to the white cat lounging near the kitchen window. Ever since they've moved to Magnolia, she hasn't had any new friends. Charle was the only friend she had here... "I don't have friends yet."

"Hey." Mystogan called out gently. His sister was a really shy girl and it must have upset her greatly to leave the friends she had already made. "Cheer up, you'll get to make friends eventually. It just takes time sometimes."

"But I'm so shy, and I'm not good at talking... I also don't know what to talk about." Wendy said, looking down miserably. "And they all look so close and sometimes I don't feel welcome... I feel so lonely at school. Everything's... unfamiliar."

Wendy was in her second year in junior high. Mystogan had always known that his little sister was extremely shy and most of the time she's not even self-confident. The only people Wendy ever really opened up to were their parents, her brothers Mystogan and Jellal, and her pet cat Charle.

"Wendy, come here." the young man said, gesturing to the free space beside him. Wendy timidly walked over and then slumped herself beside her big brother, leaning against him. Mysto draped an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Are you being bullied or are the other kids mean?"

"No, it's not that." Wendy shook her head, not looking up at her brother. "It's just... I really miss Cait Shelter." She wrapped her arms on her brother's torso. Wendy was a really sweet girl and Mystogan always boasted to his twin how he was closer to their sister. Jellal always got annoyed.

Mystogan smiled. She missed her old school. Cait Shelter, back in their former town of residence, was a really small private school, and Wendy only ever had two or three close friends. She had been closer to her teachers. It just so happened that Cait had been planning to close down, and that's why when Jellal got admitted to Sorciere in Magnolia, the whole family simply decided to move. Wendy would need a new school as well, anyway.

"It can't be so bad." Mystogan said. "You still send e-mails to them regularly, right?"

"Yes, but I still miss them."

"Missing them is good. But Magnolia is your new home now, so you should learn to love it as well."

"Well, Jellal-nii is loving it very much." Wendy giggled.

"I know." Mystogan smirked. "And hey, if you really can't make friends, I'll take you to meet mine."

"Your friends?" Wendy looked up at him, taken aback. "They're in high school!"

"They'll like you anyway. They're good people and I'm sure they love small kids."

"I'm twelve, I'm not small." the girl pouted. "And will Erza-nee be there?"

"Don't worry. If Jellal doesn't take you to see her, I will. Just to piss him off."

Wendy laughed. "I can imagine Jellal-nii's face already."

Mystogan chuckled. "What can you see?"

Wendy furrowed her brows and puffed her cheeks and tried to do an impression of her other big brother. "E-Erza, it's n-n-not that I don't want you to meet Wendy b-b-but don't listen to anything my siblings say! They lie!"

Both of them laughed again, then Charle jumped towards Wendy's lap and the girl stroked the cat's fur cheerfully. Somewhere else in Magnolia, a passerby said 'bless you' to the young man who had sneezed for the fifth time that day.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Mystogan said, watching his sister play with their cat. "Our next-door-neighbor told me we should come over and have dinner with them sometime."

"Was it the man who brought the delicious oden last time?" Wendy said. She liked that oden. It was really good. Although Mysto was the one who attended to him and Wendy only heard the man's voice, she thought that the man must be really friendly and kind.

"Yes. I think he mentioned that he owned a restaurant, but he said that next time he's cooking, he's going to invite us over. He also told me he has children. Maybe you could make friends, after all?"

"I hope so!" Wendy said, smiling weakly. She thought to herself that she'll have no problem liking other people... maybe other people will be the ones who wouldn't like her.

"Hey." Mystogan said, cupping his sister's face to make her face him. "They'll like you. Stop it with the self-esteem issues already. You're brilliant."

"Aw, Mysto-nii." Wendy smiled, this time a little more cheerfully. "You're biased."

"I'm not."

"You are!"

"Oh, I swear I'm not. Ask Jellal-"

"He's biased too!"

"Why don't you just believe us when we tell you you're the best?"

Before Wendy can answer, Charle jumped away from her lap because her big brother had started tickling her sides. For a while she forgot about her lack of self-confidence and laughed freely.

* * *

The next day was a Saturday. Wendy woke up to the sounds of breakfast being made and to Jellal nudging her awake.

"Wendy? Wake up." the young man said, poking her cheek.

"But Jellal-nii, it's Saturday..." the girl mumbled, burying her head under the sheets.

"Yeah. And it's your birthday. So we're going out."

All of a sudden, Wendy was sitting up straight and she hurriedly looked at her bedside calendar. "Oh, it's my birthday!"

"I just said that." Jellal said, smiling in amusement.

"We're going out?" the girl looked up at him.

"Mm-hm." Jellal nodded. "So go down and eat breakfast. Mysto's cooking your favorite."

"He is?"

"He told me to tell you he is, but really it's mom who cooked. Mysto just heated it. Now before he starts thinking that I'm keeping you up, better come downstairs."

Wendy was still looking up frantically at her brother as he led her out her bedroom. "Where are we going?"

Jellal gently pushed the girl to climb down the stairs. She wasn't even looking at where she's going. "We're going to the park, then watch a movie, then maybe we can eat lunch out, and then... you know.. a little walk around town..."

"Can we go to the bookstore? Are there bookstores in Magnolia? I just go to school and then back home so I don't know..."

"Yeah, seeing as it's you, me and Mysto, we will definitely stop by a bookstore."

"May I bring Charle? Charle will be lonely without us here-"

"Yes, bring Charle. Of course."

Jellal delighted himself in seeing the girl's eyes light up just a little brighter with every question she asked, her smile becoming just a little happier with every answer he gave.

Wendy and Jellal entered the dining room just as Mysto had served the omelettes in the dining table. Charle was already in her spot, drinking milk from her bowl.

"Good morning, birthday girl." Mysto said with a small smile. "Eat up, we're going around the town for the day."

"Thank you so much!" Wendy exclaimed in delight, clapping her hands before sitting down and digging in the delicious breakfast. "Where are mom and dad?"

"They went to work, but they said they'll be here by dinner to celebrate. They can't miss your thirteenth, right?" Jellal said, sitting himself down too.

"Mom said she'll be baking cake while we're out. And dad gave us money to spend on you." Mystogan continued.

Wendy thought that her brothers only ever acted like the typical twins who finished each other's sentences when it came to her. It made her feel very special.

The girl simply smiled. "I can't wait!"

"But you should. And make sure to chew your food first." Jellal said, laughing.

"Hai, hai!" Wendy said, thrilled. She pat Charle's head lightly and then returned to eating.

Jellal looked at Mystogan as his twin sat down. Mystogan simply shrugged and the siblings started their breakfast.

When Mystogan told Jellal about Wendy's problems last night, Jellal had immediately asked what they should do.

"Well, since we promised to take her to watch a movie and eat lunch out for her birthday, why don't we make the best of it? Take her around town?"

Jellal thought it was an excellent idea. Wendy was really shy and even though she opened up to both her brothers, Jellal knew that Wendy was closer to Mysto - they're both bookworms, after all. Mysto had been the sickly kid, so when they were young, as Jellal was playing outside, Mysto had time to play with little Wendy.

That doesn't mean that Jellal loved their sister any less, though - so, knowing the town better than his twin, he planned the day well.

His itinerary was simple: the town square with lots of little shops first, then they'll have lunch in Yajima-san's family restaurant - he ate there once and it was delicious - then they'll let Wendy pick a movie. After that, they can walk around the mall and visit Wendy's bookstores and maybe, if she wanted girl things or something they may still have some bills to spare. It was basically just a walk around town - maybe Wendy can make some new friends. She was just shy but she's charming, and her brothers think that it really shouldn't be that hard to like her.

After the siblings dressed up, they set off for their day. Wendy clung to both of her brothers' hands as they walked, Charle keeping up by their feet.

The day was going to be good, she knew - she could feel it.

* * *

"You pass by here everytime, Wendy. This is the town square. It's got all these little shops and restaurants. I think we also have a couple of bookstores here, too." Jellal said, beconing towards the town square - a plaza filled with people and various shops. At the center of it was a mermaid fountain where some families and couples were sitting down and feeding some birds. On one side was a good view of the river that ran through the town.

"So, where do you wanna go first?" Mystogan asked and both twins looked down at their sister.

Wendy held Charle in her arms as she looked around.

The girl asked, "What kind of shop is The Blue Pegasus?"

Her brothers tensed and then looked at her with innocent smiles. Jellal was quick to answer, "Well, it's a... um, bar."

But Mysto had been more frank. "Wendy, it's a host club." Jellal gaped at his brother. "What? She knows what that means, she's a smart girl."

Jellal sighed.

"Oh." Wendy said, then looked down. "Wow."

"You wanna go there?!" both her brothers exclaimed.

She quickly looked up at them, blushing. "N-N-No! Y-You wanna?"

"No!" they answered in perfect sync. "We're not going there!"

They turned to see the club owner, Bob-san, waving towards them, and behind him, three sparkling handsome young men striking poses and offering roses.

"Okay, what about in there?" Wendy said, pointing towards the nearby toy store.

"That's better." both commented, then the siblings headed towards the toy store. Wendy went over to look at the enormous collection of plushies immediately. After a few minutes, she contented herself with a small white cat plush she told them she'd hang into her school bag - she said it looked like Charle, but with wings. Jellal insisted that she can get something bigger, thinking that his sister must think it'll cost them plenty, but Wendy said that it was just enough.

Charle, sitting in Mysto's arms, glared at the plush for a while but dismissed it soon enough.

It turned out they didn't have to buy Wendy a big plushie. When they got out the toy store, a guy with dark blue hair and a crazy smile ran over to them, carrying a big bag of stuffed toys. He was screaming "BABIES!" - and he practically pounced on Wendy. "Hey little girl, do you want one of my babies?"

Wendy blinked. "Huh?"

Both brothers interpreted this as actions of a child molester and they instantly stepped forward protectively, but the man simply rummaged through his big toy bag and offered a big stuffed cow.

"Here, take it! I hate cows!"

"B-Bu-"

"You don't like cows, too?"

"U-Um..." Wendy hesitantly took the toy. "T-Thanks?"

"You're giving those away for free?" Jellal said, cautious.

"I won them at shooting games." the guy said. "And I hate cows. Take care of that baby, little girl!"

"Uh, okay." Wendy said, nodding warily.

"Thanks! Gotta go now!" then he was running down the street screaming "I'M LATE FOR BAND PRACTICE~!" although he didn't sound worried enough.

Wendy tried call out to the 'friendly' guy, thinking he was strange but she should still be polite... "O-O-Onii-san, what's your name?!"

The guy stopped a couple of yards away and looked at her. "Call me Bix! Bye-bye!" He waved happily and then ran away again.

"Bye-bye...?" Wendy said, waving back. She looked up at her brothers. "He was nice but I think he should go see a doctor..."

"Look," Mystogan said, looking down at his sister. "Magnolia is a friendly place."

"The people are friendly." Jellal agreed. "You just have to get used to how they are as people."

"I see that, yes." Wendy said, trying to smile, clutching her new toy cow to her chest. "Can we go look at those accessories?"

The twins turned and saw the girl's accessories shop across the street.

"Sure."

The woman on the shop was a beautiful young lady named "Sherry" based on her nametag. When she saw the boys, she stood up and abandoned her manicure kit to smile charmingly at them. "Welcome to Sherry's Accessories-!"

That's when she noticed the little girl standing between them. She immediately headed for them and crouched down in front of Wendy.

"Oh, what a cute little sister you have! C'mere, girl! What's your name?"

"Wendy, ma'am." Wendy said, smiling shyly.

"Oh, don't call me 'ma'am'! I'm Sherry! Are you looking for necklaces? Bracelets? Perhaps something cute to tie your hair up? Or earrings for those cute little ears of yours?"

The Sherry woman tried everything on Wendy, and, figuring out that her brothers must be willing to pay for anything their little sister liked, the saleslady tried her best to sell her most expensive items.

But to her surprise, Wendy was the one who insisted on a simple handmade bracelet which cost extra cheap, and Sherry sulked about not making good profit as they left.

"Wendy, are you sure you only want that?" Mystogan asked as they walked a little further around the square, his sister marvelling at the cute little bracelet.

"Yeah, we could have bought you that nice necklace she was offering. It looked good." Jellal said.

"Mm-hm." Wendy shook her head. "I like things small and simple."

Alright, that made both twins melt.

They ended up buying more little items around. A new mug, a cellphone dangle Wendy chose for all three of them, a pair of really simple blue sandals and a new collar for Charle.

Wendy was immensely enjoying just looking at the other items and then buying something small from the shops she liked.

Both brothers were thankful that unlike other girls, their sister was incredibly easy to shop with. Had it been any other girl, their arms would have been full of bags and boxes three hours in.

* * *

At lunch, they ate at Yajima-san's. When the man saw them, he chuckled and asked which young man buys cake from his pastries and bakeshop every week. Jellal blushed and said it was him, to which his brother and sister immediately teased him about.

When they mentioned Erza, Yajima-san turned towards Jellal.

"Erza Scarlet? The cakes are for Erza-chan?"

"Y-Yes, do you know her?"

"Since she was a wee girl. Almost like my own daughter. Why didn't you say so earlier, my boy?" the chef laughed. "Next time you buy, I'll make sure to put in extra cream. Erza-chan likes it best that way. Maybe it'll help your chances, hm?"

The chef pat Jellal's arm before going back to the kitchen, just as Jellal began insisting that he didn't need to "help his chances" whatsoever.

"Huh, you just got approved, I think." Mystogan said, chuckling.

"I don't need any approval." Jellal said, looking down, stabbing the meatballs on his pasta with more force than necessary.

"It's not like you're courting Erza-nee, right?" Wendy said, smiling.

"Right!"

"We don't believe you." Wendy replied, cheerful. She high-fived with Mysto and they laughed when Jellal simply rubbed his aching temples. His siblings gave him headaches. Every. Damn. Time.

Jellal asked, "Will you two please let me live this down?"

They were smiling. "Nope!"

* * *

"So, pick your movie." the three of them, with Charle in Jellal's arms this time, stood infront of the numerous movie choices as they assessed their options.

There was an action movie, a horror one, a chick flick, an adult romance, an anime original film, a 3d-animated movie, and a kid's sci-fi film.

"They say the 3D one's good." Jellal suggested.

"And that horror movie's got nice ratings." Mysto said. "Although that Priestess one looks good, too."

"I want to watch the phoenix priestess one. The premise sounds nice." Wendy said.

"At your service, ma'am." the twins chorused and she looked at them with a grateful smile. Jellal went over to the counter to buy tickets.

"Am I gonna do both of your chores to make up for today?" Wendy asked.

Mystogan simply pat her head and then ruffled her hair. "It's in the house."

Wendy looked down and smiled shyly. "It must be troublesome, hanging out with me because I look lonely, when you can go out with your friends-"

Then her brother did something he has never done before.

He hit her on the back of her head.

"OW!"

"That's for being stupid." Mysto frowned.

Wendy looked up at him with teary eyes. "W-What-..?"

"We like going out with you not because you look lonely. We just want to do it, so don't ever think you're being too much trouble."

"But you two are so cool and all the people like you and I... I don't know what to do or what to talk about, or where to go... I'm-"

"-the cutest little sister in the world."

"M-Mysto-nii!"

"What?"

"That's embarrassing!"

"What's embarrassing?" Jellal asked, offering them each their tickets. "I had to convince them to let Charle in. So why do you two look like you hate each other?"

Mystogan huffed. "Wendy was being weird."

Wendy looked at her other brother. "Mysto-nii hit me on the head!"

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

Mystogan rolled his eyes. Jellal looked at him as if he was a criminal. The calmer twin simply said, "She was going on about how we're cool and she sucks and we shouldn't go with her."

Jellal hit her head too.

"JELLAL-NII!" Wendy whined.

Jellal crouched down to the girl's level. "You're cool, Wendy. It's just that we're cooler."

"That doesn't help." Mysto sighed.

"No, but we mean it. You're cool." Jellal chuckled. "Let's just go inside before we miss the movie."

Both boys started forward and then looked back at Wendy as the girl stared at them. She smiled, then followed.

"Jellal-nii, Mysto-nii, why do you like hanging out with me?"

Both boys stopped. They looked at each other, and then at their little sister.

"Because you're cute."

Wendy blinked. They both stepped forward, but then they turned again and looked at her.

"What brought this on?"

Wendy always knew that she probably did something wrong when the twins are saying the same things at the same time.

"Well..." Wendy tried. She was doing fine until a little while ago when on their way across the mall and towards the movie house, Mystogan was approached by a group of teens apparently from his class. They were asking him why he dropped out from their plans last night and if he still wanted to go with them to hang out at someone's place, but Mystogan politely declined, telling them it was a really urgent change of plans. Wendy didn't know that her brother had to cancel a plan with his friends just to be with her.

Then on the movie house, Jellal was greeted by two pretty girls from his school who both asked him if he wanted to go see the action movie with them. He also declined.

Seeing as how both of them had these really nice friends, Wendy felt like a liability.

Her brothers are big boys now - they're young men! And they're made to escort a shy little girl because she doesn't have anyone to go with her...

"Well?" Jellal encouraged.

"Well, I saw you with your new friends, and they all look so kind and they sound so fun... I feel like you're being forced to stick with me after finally being able to make friends of your own-"

That was true. Mystogan had been a loner and Jellal had been this perfect student who was too prioritized with his studies, and they didn't have a lot of friends before. Coming to Magnolia considerably loosened both of her brothers' guards. They smile more often and go out more often now, perhaps because the people are kinder.

One of them chuckled - Wendy was too busy with her thoughts to know which one did. So she looked up, only to see them both smiling silly at her. "W-W-What?"

"Wendy, you're really being silly now." Mystogan shook his head.

"Do you want to know what those girls earlier told me about you?" Jellal asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"W-What, were they.. um, annoyed..?" Wendy asked, nervous.

"Well, they told me you're cute, and I'm adorable, being a good big brother to you." Jellal smirked. "See, having you is like automatic plus points."

"Ignore him and his womanizing ways." Mystogan said, brushing his brother off. "My friends think I'm so lucky to have a cute little sister who doesn't look like she's out to destroy my life plans."

Jellal continued, "And you know what? We can boast out that you're shy so you're not terribly whiny, and that you're simple so you're not demanding. You're quiet so you never get annoying... You're smart, so you can keep up with us..."

Finally, Mystogan pat their sister on the head. "And to top it all off, you're humble so you don't get big-headed when we say good things about you."

Wendy tried to keep the tears from falling.

"Oi, DON'T CRY!" both her brothers said at the same time, as if to punctuate their 'reasons-you're-the-best' speech, and that made Wendy laugh, all tears forgotten.

"You two can be creepy, you know?"

"Well, suffice to say, you're not an annoyance for us."

"You're more like our lucky charm."

Wendy shook her head and smiled. "Fine, fine! Stop it now, I'm feeling so spoiled."

Jellal shrugged. "Well, we're feeling like we're missing a certain movie..."

"Oh, no." Wendy said, her eyes widening. "We should go now!"

Her brothers held out a hand each.

Feeling better than ever, Wendy took those hands and the trio ran inside the movie theater.

* * *

When they went home, their mother welcomed them with a hug each and got out the delicious cake. They all greeted Wendy a happy birthday and she blew out the candles, making a small wish.

"So Wendy," Grandine started, watching her children start with their meals. "Were your brothers nice to you today?"

Wendy smiled, looking at both her brothers as they both complained to their mother that "Of course we were nice, why wouldn't we be nice?!"

"They're brilliant." Wendy said. "They're the best."

Grandine smiled at her only daughter, then at her sons, who were both smiling proudly at themselves. "Dear, they just have a complex."

The boys looked at their mother incredulously - "We do not!"

"They so do." Grandine laughed, then simply watched again as her sons went back to eating and Wendy smiled at them before returning to her meal.

* * *

.

.

.

**A/N:** In writing this chapter, I've grown to learn five things: 1) Wendy is the perfect imouto-chan, 2) The manga needed more bro/sis Mysto/Wendy moments - there were so few!, 3) sassy!Mystogan is EPIC WIN, 4) Jellal-and-Mysto is more fun than Jellal-and-Siegrain, 5) I have no idea how to present a father for these three siblings, but Grandine is an excellent mother.

And if you have to ask, yep - Bixlow is late for _band practice, _Igneel went to bring them some _oden_, and all of Magnolia ships Jerza. Make of that what you will.

Let's have more family moments!

**Coming up next:  
"Gildarts Loves Cana-chan Very Much"**

The title is a dead give-away so please proceed.


	5. Track 05: Up and Up

**A/N: **I hope you liked the previous chapter! Now another one. This one has a bit of the other pairings in it...

Because I'm starting to think that I have a bias towards Gray's and Cana's flat.

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 05: Up and Up  
**..aka "Gildarts Loves Cana-chan Very Much"

_"There's nothing left to prove 'cause I'm just trying to be  
a better version of me for you.  
_- Relient K

Gildarts knew almost every kid in Magnolia. He had been the policeman stationed in Magnolia's 'education center' - the square between Magnolia Junior High and FairyGaku - for more than a decade, and he watched all the kids arrive, leave and stay.

In particular, Natsu idolized him - the boy said he wanted to be a policeman when he grew up so he can fight the bad guys, although all Gildarts usually really did was shout at some random pick-pockets and then punch the face of some kid molesters. Usually he was there to break up students fighting, although when Natsu, Gray and Elfman starts trying to beat each other up, he just left them like that... Erza is bound to show up soon, he was always sure.

He was content to be this big guy in that little police booth that some of the kids pass by and greet or sometimes talk to or chat with on their way to and from the schools.

He has a daughter - a wonderful one, he always bragged about - and her name is Cana.

Cana told him the truth when she was seventeen. Knowing, after his life alone without a family, that his love with the girl's mother bore fruit brought Gildarts unspeakable joy. From then on he wanted to make up to every single second missed and lost with his only daughter.

Yet the thing is that Cana only told him because she believed he had the right to know. She didn't expect him to love her, or to give her money and gifts. Cana, who lost her mother at a young age and got by using wits and street smarts and perseverance, was fully self-sustaining by the time she entered high school. It was an impressive feat back then, but when he realized that she had done that even when she knew that he was there and she could have asked him to help, Gildarts couldn't have ever met a stronger girl.

Gildarts tried to give love but Cana didn't seem to appreciate it. The young woman doesn't like him fuzzing over, but he just can't help it - he adores everything about his 'baby girl'. Over the years, Cana was this pretty little brunette who greeted him cheerfully whenever she passed by - the fifth kid of the little tight-knit gang with Natsu, Gray, Erza and Lisanna. She can be just as tough as Erza when in the boys' fights but chooses to stand aside and simply laugh at them. She grew up to be quite the attractive young woman who always stayed up late because she has dozens of part-time jobs. Cana was the girl who drunk like five men but who slaps like a hundred women, he heard. Cana was the no-nonesense jill-of-all-trades. She had been busy surviving.

He watched Cana grow up without knowing that as he watched, he's missing the chance to be in the picture himself. He adored the girl without knowing who she really was. He mentored the young woman without knowing that he should have fathered her too.

* * *

Gildarts still wanted to be a part of his daughter's life - more than the familiar face she passes by every morning, more than the kind policeman who gives her a cup of coffee when she's stuck in the little station because of the rain. That's why he's the one who adapts - he gives out all the help he can. That's why one particular afternoon, he had his arms full of groceries, heading for Gray and Cana's flat. Neither kids asked him for anything, but he took the initiative of making sure they're always fully-stocked on what they need. He knew that the duo didn't really like counting on him (they were proud like that), but what the heck - Gildarts just wants to make sure they're alright.

What Gildarts didn't expect to see, however, was the blue-haired high schooler who opened the door when he rang - at a time when both Cana and Gray were both usually home.

Gildarts blinked and cocked his head to recheck the apartment number, then looked down at the blue-haired young woman who was wearing what he recognized was Gray's apron (Cana had told him once that it was her present - the white apron had the words 'I AM A STRIPPER' printed on it (Gray only kept it because he was too lazy to buy another and he didn't like how using Cana's apron made him smell like beer)).

The girl spoke up. "You must be Gildarts-sama, Cana-san's father?"

Gildarts thanked heavens that he IS indeed in the right place. "Uh, yes. Is Cana in?"

"Gray-sama and Cana-san are not home yet, but please do come in." the girl let him in and he followed her.

He has been in the flat for so many times now, but he is still wary around the place sometimes. He was trying hard to know his daughter, but the flat seemed to be a private place only for her and Gray. Nevertheless, he could see some cheer in the place lately. Some pictures and frames that haven't been present when he first dropped by for a visit now graced tabletops and the fridge. (He knew for a fact that the place can afford decorations lately because the kids can save up more. They can save up more because Gildarts had been helping, they just didn't want to say it outright because they think that he might think they're abusing priveleges - really, those two.)

Some of the pictures had him. There were old photos of Cana with her mother, of Gray's parents, Gray with his late aunt Ur and his cousin Ultear... Most of them were of their little circle of friends since primary school and junior high. He remembered most of them - Natsu, Gray, Cana, Lisanna, Erza, Levy, Elfman, Mira, Laxus... The more recent ones: Lucy and Loke... Finally, Gildarts recognized the bluenette from some of the more recent pictures. He also remembered her walking with some of the girls or with Gray around FairyGaku. He knew most kids by face but he can't help but forget some names...

"What is your name again, ojou-chan?" he asked his young companion in the nicest, politest way possible as he settled the groceries down on the countertop.

"Ah, apologies! Juvia hasn't been fully introduced to Gildarts-sama yet." the girl held out a hand, and it took Gildarts a moment to realize that she was talking in third person. "Juvia is Gray-sama's girlfriend."

"Oh, that's you!" he laughed good-naturedly, shaking the girl's hand. He looked towards the fridge again - ah, there it is, a photo of just her and Gray, obviously shoved towards each other by their friends. "Cana seems to have mentioned you, although Gray doesn't really talk to me that much."

Juvia simply smiled and shrugged. "Gray-sama is a private person, yes."

"So where are Gray and Cana?"

"Gray-sama is out with his friends. Cana-san is probably still in her part-time job, although by this time, she's probably on her way home."

"How did you get in?"

"Juvia has a spare key."

_'Ouch.'_ Gildarts thinks. _'Gray can give his girlfriend a spare but Cana can't give one to her dad.'_ He recovered quickly by looking around and seeing that Juvia was trying to rummage the house for something to cook. "Oh, I came here to bring some groceries. I'm sure Cana and Gray can use some."

"That is perfect! Juvia was just at a loss on what to cook!" the girl cheered up instantly. "Juvia was just about to ask Cana-san to buy some ingredients..."

Gildarts watched as Juvia started unpacking the supplies. After a beat, he grabbed one of the bags and did the same. "Let me help you with that, Juvia-chan."

The girl offered a smile, and after getting some ingredients she headed back to the kitchen. "Will Gildarts-san stay for dinner?"

"Oh, I plan to leave in a few. I'll be going back home soon, then to the station." Gildarts replied, although he was sure he sounded disappointed too. "I just can't leave you to deal with all this alone."

Juvia continued her dinner preparation as Gildarts tried to sort out which item went where in the little kitchen of two. He first took out some frozen foods and tried to get them to fit in the freezer - _'It would be easier if Gray didn't have large chunks of ice in here.'_, he thought. _'I should buy him a separate freezer for his ice sculpting stuff...'_

Next, he tried to store some vegetables properly but he found the fridge already stuffed with what should be a very unhealthy amount of canned beer. _'Cana-chan should stop drinking too much...'_

It was easier when he got to the groceries that should be placed in the cupboards, which were free of the two kids' hobbies.

Juvia saw him arranging things sloppily but determinedly and she smiled. "Juvia appreciates the help."

"Gildarts appreciates that Juvia-chan appreciates the help." Gildarts sighed, humoring his companion's way of talking. Juvia nodded kindly at him. "If only Cana-chan will appreciate Gildarts too."

Juvia paused, looking at the man. "Gildarts-san doesn't think Cana-san loves him?"

"Cana-chan may or may not love Gildarts-san." the man frowned. "She just seems so annoyed at me all the time. I don't know why everything I do seems either wrong or over-the-top. I don't even think Cana-chan wants me in her life."

That was true. He couldn't even get Cana to move in with him. Cana insists that she's doing perfectly fine on her flat with Gray. Gray doesn't fuzz, doesn't call her 'baby', doesn't ask her every hour how she's doing, doesn't freak out about why she still isn't home by midnight... Gray knows her favorite color versus the color that suits her most, and gets her the right present on her birthday. He heard some parents talk about "the rebellious phase" but he didn't really know how to be a parent so he just couldn't tell. Plus, Cana seemed to be a practical teenager and she's definitely not this rebel...

When he noticed Juvia staring at him, he realized what he just said. "Oh, what am I talking about? Excuse the old man, Juvia-chan... I was being depressing, eh?"

"Cana-san wants Gildarts-sama in her life, Juvia is sure." the girl said, and that catches Gildarts's attention. "From what Juvia knows of Cana-san, she's a very honest person. And if Cana-san wanted someone out of her life, she would have said it outright."

"You think so?" - he asked, because sometimes he already thinks about why exactly he was working so hard on Cana. Why is he trying so hard to make up? Why does he keep on giving when he's not wanted in the first place? Was it because he's guilty? Or was it because he really cared for her? Is he really doing all of it out of will and not because of obligations?

"Yes." Juvia nodded firmly, even looking at the man in determination. "The way Juvia sees it, Cana-san and Gray-sama are alike in that they both seldom say what they really feel. Cana-san loves Gildarts-san, even though she doesn't show it!"

Gildarts wanted to sob - he was listening to a lovestruck hopeful girl's sermon about love and feelings and he realized that he has completely overlooked that possibility. What if Cana just didn't want to tell him how much he meant to her? What if she just finds it hard to trust someone - _'Of course she'll find it hard to trust someone like him, someone who left her mother.'_ With that, Gildarts started to think that he should be a little bit more patient.

Gildarts was giving love without being asked. He thought that if he took initiative, it will all go smoothly.

He was new to this. He didn't know that he also needed to be patient. That love given isn't always so easily accepted.

Juvia was chopping vegetables as she continued on with her musings. "The way Juvia sees it, you can keep loving a person more than that person loves you, until that person loves you as much as you love that person. And when that person loves you as much as you love that person, you won't expect that person to make up for all the love you were giving more while that person was giving less. That's how you know you really love that person, when you don't expect to take as much as you give. That's why they say it's unconditional.

"Juvia knows that Gildarts-sama truly loves Cana-san because he's still here giving. Juvia is sure that Cana-san cares for Gildarts-sama too! Maybe she just feels a bit guilty because she's not giving as much as Gildarts-sama, but the way Gildarts-sama is patiently waiting for Cana-san, Juvia thinks it will all work out. Both of you just need to wait a bit more." Juvia finally cheerfully looked up from her work to look at the man, but she was startled to see him hopelessly sobbing as he hugged the big loaf of bread he had just taken from his grocery bags.

"G-G-GILDARTS-SAMA?!"

"Gray doesn't deserve Juvia-chan, she's too kind, loving and pretty!" and Gildarts sobbed (outright wails, actually) harder against the loaf.

"J-Juvia is flattered, but please don't cry, Gildarts-sama!"

Juvia was beginning to think that she now understood why Gray panics whenever she set on the waterworks.

Gildarts tried hard to compose himself. "I-I I know, it doesn't fit me, big scary man that I am."

"Gildarts-sama is not scary!" Juvia insisted, careful not to make the man feel bad... err- worse.

"Yes, thank you, Juvia-chan... D-D-Do you need any help with that?" the man asked, because he felt that he owed the girl one. He's been ready to give up on Cana because his daughter doesn't seem intent on accepting any sort of thing he gives.

Gildarts had two choices in regards to giving - giving up and giving more. He is forty now and he is convinced that he has made the right choice, because he knew for a fact that, guilt or no, he does love Cana after all.

"J-Juvia will be alright, if Gildarts-sama will just finish sorting out the supplies."

"Hai. Juvia-chan, you're so kind..." Gildarts said, sighing.

Juvia didn't know what to do. She wanted to hug the poor man but that kind of seemed... inappropriate for some reason. "T-T-Thank you?"

"How did Gray score such a kind, loving girl? Is it the stripping thing? Kids today..."

* * *

Cana, for all her eighteen years, wanted to receive love but when it was given to her, she hesitates to accept it.

She has three part-time jobs on top of her last year in high school. She made ends meet most times, but at times it took her and Gray's combined efforts to make it through the month. When they're lucky, they still have some bills to spare to stuff on the piggy bank they aptly labeled "COLLEGE FUND". As childhood friends, they've been sticking together since they could remember. When Gray's aunt, Ur, died in an accident, he turned down the initial offers of very distant relatives to live with them. Instead, he turned up at Cana's doorstep with all his bags packed with him, asking her how they will split the rent. Cana knew that Gray had simply been afraid to move out of Magnolia and to live with complete strangers. Besides the money that Gray's distant relatives send him on rare occasions, they try to get by on their own means.

That night, Cana willingly took up the shift that Mirajane offered her in The Strauss' - a local bar and cafe. The kind, silver-haired barmaid called Cana after her shift in the restaurant across the street (Yajima-san's), saying that Kinana-chan had called in sick, and they need an extra hand to serve the beverages. Cana had always been the drunk in the her circle of friends and she went to take Kinana's place for that night. Mirajane knew Gray and Cana - they take tasks if it meant extra income. Mira's little sister Lisanna was a friend of these younger men and women - plus, she herself was her senior in Fairy High.

Cana greeted Mirajane and headed to the locker room to change into a spare uniform - a short skirt and a white blouse. She left only the three bottom buttons on her white blouse on, then stepped in the bar. Mira doesn't comment on the racy attire - it's Cana's usual.

As Cana and Mira talk about what could have possibly got Kinana sick, the chimes on the door were heard as Natsu and Lucy burst in together, laughing as Natsu was tickling Lucy and the blonde was trying to squirm out of the pink-head's grasp. They were followed by Levy, who was talking to Jet and Droy about the book she held in her arms. The two boys were engrossed at watching the small bluenette being adorable, thoughts about books ignored completely.

"Looks like our patrons are here. You know what to get them." Mira said, then turned to Cana before she headed over to Macao-san and Wakaba-san as they called over for another drink.

"Got it." Cana replied with a confident grin. She liked being competent. Being competent has kept her alive for this long.

"Cana, you work here again?" Lucy asked as she sat on one of the bar stools. Natsu pulled his stool a little too close to the blonde's seat and tucked his head on Lucy's shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Cana had gotten used to their antics by now.

"Kinana-chan called in sick, so Mira asked me to fill in for tonight." Cana answered, readying the glasses, waiting for their order. "What are you two having?"

"Love. Real, true love, where we go to the arcade and play, and no one will be a killjoy." Natsu grumbled.

Lucy slapped his head away from her neck. "Natsu's having chocolate shake."

Natsu whined, but answered anyway. "Lucy's having a latte. And she's a killjoy."

"You heard him." Lucy beamed at Cana, before dealing with a complaining Natsu about her refusal to go to the arcade with him and the other guys. "Also, two slices of mocha cake."

Cana started making their drinks after ringing Mira in on the cake order, putting Levy, Jet and Droy on hold when they ordered three glasses of lemonade. _'Really?'_ Cana thought again, _'Finally legal and not ordering alchohol. I have wholesome friends.'_ She asked Natsu just before the young man was about to bite on Lucy's shoulder. "Are Gray and the other guys at the arcade?"

She wanted to scold Gray for wasting time in the arcade, but she remembered that last month, he was working double shifts in his part-time job, so she forgave him quickly. The guy deserved the break.

"Yeah!" Natsu complained. "Lucy won't go!"

Cana raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here then? Really need your other half that much?"

Natsu thought for a while. "Uhhhh... I don't know, how did you get me to come here, Lucy?"

Cana sighed and simply listens as Lucy talks patiently to Natsu about how she told him she didn't want to go to the arcade and he promptly followed her to wherever she wanted to go to. Lucy stayed out until late these days, Cana knew - she avoided going home early as much as possible. Even though Loke would fuzz over her, she kept her "darling lion's" protests to a minimum by updating the bodyguard every hour by the hour on where she is and how she's doing. Cana knew why Lucy was so hesitant to go home too. She has been there when the girl broke down from her family problems.

After serving them their drinks, Cana turned and started off on Levy's lemonade. Some patrons paused to greet her quickly - they know her as "the girl who drunk like five hundred men".

After half an hour, Lucy and Natsu bid goodbye and they leave the same way they arrive: chasing each other and flirting (Cana thinks they're flirting, anyway) like lovebirds. The last part she heard was "Next time get in through a door!", followed by "Happy wanted to see you!" and "Oh, was it really just Happy who wanted to see me, hm?"

"When will I win that bet, dammit." Cana mumbled.

"I know, sometimes I think they're just messing with the stakes." Levy complained, shaking her head. "Everyday I think: 'Just get together already!'"

Cana laughed with her friend before going to serve another customer.

After an hour, Levy, Jet and Droy finished their group homework and they also took their leave.

Cana cleaned up - she's still got half an hour left before she goes home. Gray hasn't texted that he's home yet, but Gildarts had just left a message saying that he will drop by groceries in the flat - "nothing much, just supplies", his text said. Cana wanted to tell him to stop restocking their fridge and cupboards every two days, but the man was unstoppable. 'Nothing much' for him practically meant 'a month's worth of supplies for Cana-chan and I'll be bringing more in three days!'

_[[ i'm on my way to ur flat, have groceries. nothing much, just supplies. are u home, dear? ]]_

Cana wishes he'll stop calling her 'dear'. She has known him since she was seven, and only when she was seventeen did he start calling her that.

She doesn't reply. Maybe he'll finally think that his guilt is unreasonable and he'll stop the obsessive tendencies just because he's feeling obligated to help Cana. Maybe he'll stop. Yeah. He'll stop.

"Thinking about something, are we?" Mira chimed in to break Cana from her trance. It's so rare to see the young woman thinking stray thoughts.

Cana looked up and smiled weakly. "Uh, yeah."

"Mind sharing?"

Cana was hesitant - Mirajane was the town informant, but she had also known Mira since forever and the silver-haired barmaid can be trusted. "Did you see Lucy a while ago? She looks so happy."

Mira blinked, taken aback by the question. "Well, yes, she seemed very happy... Why do you ask?"

"See, last last week, Natsu was hanging out at our place, for some reason he and Gray were trying to beat the shit out of each other via shooting virtual zombies..." Cana laughed lightly, and Mira only urged her with a smile and a nod. "Lucy calls Natsu and asks where he is, and she didn't even care where he is, she just comes over and then Natsu takes her in and she was crying. I've never seen her cry before, but when Natsu hugged her... Well, there. Lucy, crying - and me and Gray, we just watched as Natsu tried his best..."

"Oh my," Mira said, worry written all over her face. She was a kind soul (even though buried underneath was 'The Demon' to match 'The Titania' head-to-head.) "What got her that upset? Lucy's such a cheerful girl..."

"She had a fight with her dad." Cana looked down. "Something about disappointments and absence and her grades, I didn't really get all of it. And then she says something about love, about attention, I think - on how she didn't have a dad even though he's just a hall down every night. It's still in my head, Lucy saying that bit. And then..."

_'And then,'_ Cana thought, _'...and then here I am, avoiding my own father, who loves me for what seems like everything it's worth. For what seems like everything it isn't worth too, even.'_ Seeing Lucy nowadays makes Cana think twice about her decisions - about her feelings. How dare she deny that rare offer that some other people were so unfortunate not to have? Lucy has said it herself on several occasions when she sees Gildarts fussing over Cana - _"I wish I had that, too."_

"And then?" Mira encouraged the other young woman.

"Mira, do you think Gildarts isn't doing what he's doing out of guilt?"

Finally, Mira understood - and finally, Cana had asked the question that for a long time, only she herself has been answering.

"Cana-chan," Mirajane smiled her ever-immaculate smile. "Gildarts is a womanizer, but he's an honest man. When he says 'I love you', how much do you think he means it? How real do you think it is?"

* * *

Cana thought about it as she walked home, and then she found that the lights were on. 'Gray, back so early?' she thought, until she saw two pairs of shoes by the rack.

Girl's school shoes - _'Juvia.'_

Police boots - _'Gildarts?'_

She found Juvia cooking a delicious-smelling dinner as the bluenette listened to Gildarts talking about someone named _'Cornelia'_.

Cana paused.

_'He never talked to me about mom.'_ Cana realized._ 'I always get mad. I always cut him off.'_

As she stared at her father talking about her mother, she saw happiness in his face. The kind of happiness Juvia practically radiates when she's talking about Gray. The kind of happiness she saw in Lucy as she laughed with Natsu earlier. The kind of happiness Mira says when she's telling her customers good news about the people she loves.

"...and then she barges in the police station and demands that I stop giving her the stupid flowers with those corny pick-up lines, but when I move to take the flowers from her, she slaps me asking me how dare I try to get it back!"

"But didn't she hate it?" Juvia asked, blinking.

"No, she hated the pick-up lines, so she just shoved the letter back to me and then walked away keeping the flowers."

It's the kind of happiness she then realized she's been holding him back from: to be happy to share her mother with her - to be a proper family.

Juvia laughed with Gildarts, and then both stopped when Cana entered the room.

"Cana-chan!" Gildarts said from his seat on the dining table. It looks like Juvia had made him a hot beverage. "From overtime?"

"No, I had to cover for Kinana at the Strauss'. She was sick." Cana answered simply, then smiled at Juvia. "Gray's still at the arcade?"

"Yes. But Juvia doesn't mind. Juvia just wanted to cook here." Juvia said cheerfully. "Juvia punched Gajeel-kun in the face earlier so Juvia doesn't want to go home yet... Cana-san, dinner's almost done!"

Cana raised an eyebrow - What in the world did Gajeel do to make sweet Juvia punch him? - and then she shrugged it off. Right. Dinner. She turned to Gildarts. "I told you, you don't have to bring in supplies everyday."

"I bring them in every three days..." Gildarts corrected her and pouted after. For a grown man in police uniform, it really didn't fit his image. "I just wanna make sure you're eating right. You look so tired, that extra shift seemed like it took a toll on you..."

"I'm fine, I'm used to this. I used to work until much later in the night."

"I know, but-"

_'And of course you know.'_ Cana thought, shutting his words off. _'Of course you know. You knew me. Everyone knew me.'_ - her thoughts were suddenly jumbled, and she couldn't help but think back on a certain moment when they were in junior high. She thought it was incredibly bitter of her to keep remembering that time, but those were one of her darkest moments. That was the first time in her life that Cana realized that against the world, she had her father by her side.

* * *

_There was a time when a rumor about Cana spread even as far as outside the school halls. Apparently, some people said that one of her many part-time jobs was selling her body. That's why she can still be seen walking in the streets at night, making her way home._

_She remembered crying herself to sleep in her room because of all the stares and rumors around town. Gray had sat on her bed on some nights, holding her hand. Mira and Lisanna had endlessly told her that they trust her, that they know her more than that. Natsu and Elfman punched the face of anyone who dared point out a fault._

_She remembered that time and the person who made her hold her ground most strongly: Gildarts quickly pulled her inside the station when it poured so hard on her way home on one of her late nights. He was on the night shift and he gave her a warm cup of coffee, then draped his big black leather jacket on her. He didn't have a towel in store - how clumsy and irresponsible, Cana had thought then._

_"Cana," he had said to break the long silence as they waited for the rain to stop. "I've heard some things..."_

_"Yeah, of course you have." she answers bitterly, because she hadn't felt more ashamed in her entire life. She knew it wasn't true but that didn't matter if people were talking about it as if it is. She knew who the man really was, and even though he didn't, it still hurt so much. "How much detail did they put? I've heard some people even mentioned names."_

_"I didn't listen to the details." the policeman shrugged. Cana looked at him. "After the first sentence, I told them, 'nah, Cana-chan's too smart for that'. M'right?"_

_Cana had to stifle a sob as she turned her back to him to hide her face._

_"Cana?" he had asked, worried that he might've upset the girl._

_"Yeah." she mumbled._

_"Hm?"_

_"Yeah, I'm way too smart to do that shit."_

_"Told 'em so." he said with a little laugh. He reached over to pat the girl's head. "Don't listen to them, okay? Anyone saying bad things about you that aren't true, you tell me. I got your back. You have your friends too, right? They got you too."_

_She didn't listen to anything else after that. After a while, she didn't even hear anything. That night at the station, she wanted to tell him so badly that he was her father. It seemed so easy to say it then - "I'm lonely, you're my dad, please hold me for once." - but she held herself back. She didn't want to tell him, not when she's all weak and shivering and crying. She wanted to tell him at the time when he could look at her and see how strong she is._

_She just wanted to make him proud... so what happened?_

* * *

"Cana-chan?" - she goes back to the present, to her father worrying about her, because even if he knew her, he still worries. "Are you really alright?"

He's getting the hang of this 'family' business more than Cana ever expected - ever even wished for.

"I was just thinking about something." Cana quickly answered, then noticed that Juvia was done with dinner. "Juvia, you really shouldn't have."

"Juvia likes cooking. It's okay." Juvia answered cheerfully. Cana dropped her bags on the counter and hurried to help in the kitchen.

"Well, I should help then." she said. "Can't have my guest do all the work..."

Gildarts sighed because he felt kinda uneeded between both friends, but he covered it with a quick cough and a cheerful smile - 'Patience', he encouraged himself. 'Patience, let Cana-chan take her time. Patience, like with her mother.' The man scratched the back of his head, "Oh well... I just really came to drop by the groceries and make sure Cana-chan is doing fine, I guess I'll leave now, got my shift-"

"No, stay for dinner!"

It surprised Cana that she beat sweet, thoughtful, polite Juvia to asking the man to stay.

Gildarts looked at her in astonishment. "Cana-chan?"

"You have your shift coming up, you need energy for that, and... and Gray will be out late with the guys anyway, so Juvia's cooking will go to waste."

Gildarts stared at his daughter for a while. Cana was looking down at the floor. Juvia was looking back and forth between them. Finally, he asked, "Cana-chan... a-are you sure?"

Cana attempted a sincere smile. "You're missing half of your life if you haven't tasted Juvia's curry."

_'I've wasted more than half my life not being your dad.'_ Gildarts thought._ 'I'm not gonna miss another half not taking this chance.'_

Gildarts tried to help himself from jumping in glee and pulling Cana into a hug. Instead, he just acted like his goofy self and sweet-talked to his 'baby girl' the way he never got to do when she was little. "Well, if Cana-chan says so! Papa will stay and eat dinner with Cana-chan and Juvia-chan!"

Juvia silently watched them and smiled. She felt like she has just seen something change.

Cana shook her head and started preparing the table. "Dammit, stop being a creep."

"I just love Cana-chan so much!"

Cana thought back to Mirajane's question: 'When he says "I love you", how much do you think he means it?'

Cana looked at the man as he accidentally tripped over one of Gray's pants _(WHEN DID THAT GET THERE? Gray and his clothes...)_ and ended up actually breaking a chair.

"WHAT THE FUCK, YOU GEEZER?!" Cana shouted - because _HE ACTUALLY BROKE A CHAIR!_

"Gildarts-sama, are you okay?!" Juvia screeched, her hands on her cheeks, ever the lady.

"I'll buy you a new one!" he pleaded. "I love you, Cana-chan! Please forgive Papa!"

_'Very much.'_ Cana thought - she can feel that when he says he loves her, he loves her very much. "LIKE HELL I'LL CALL YOU THAT!"

Cana is eighteen and she has lived most of her life wishing for this. That wish was granted. She's been accepting love given for a while now, but it's about time that she start accepting it with less hesitation and more appreciation.

Gildarts looked towards Juvia and Juvia nodded at him. The man simply smiled at his daughter and said, "You will, someday! I'll make it my life goal to make you call me Papa~"

"I'll destroy your dreams, then." Cana said, then when Gildarts started whining pathetically, she simply slammed the plates on the table. "Just eat the food!"

"Itadakimasu!" Juvia and Gildarts both said before digging in. The brunette shook her head, half in exasperation, half in amusement.

They eat dinner. It's a start, the three of them thought.

* * *

.

.

.

**A/N:** I always thought that if there's someone who will understand Gildarts the most, it will be Juvia.

Tell me your two cents about it.

Next chapter will be up next week, I've already set up at alarm for it so I don't forget! And I think many people ARE looking forward to this one...

**Coming up next:  
"Levy's Middle Name is Kindness"**

Because it is.  
Levy is an angel. Anyone who says otherwise is going to be Fairy-Lawed.


	6. Track 06: I Wanna Be Free

**A/N: **Thanks for everyone who reviewed the last chapters! As promised, here's the next one featuring dum dum dummmm... Gajeel and Levy! Well, it's actually Levy-centric.

Shout-out to **adryanna's echo** for beta-ing for me.

A little note again, yes, I am planning to repeat couples. Our ships are going to be recurring in the later chapters.

On to this one! It's not as long as the other ones. It's one little scene - just one conversation. It's straight and to the point, like Gajeel. And sweet, like Levy. Enjoy!

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 06: I Wanna Be Free  
**..aka "Levy's Middle Name is Kindness"

_"Is there a heart inside the night? I can feel its vital signs."_  
- Panic! At the Disco

.

Levy McGarden ranked at the top of her class, came from a good and loving family, and with the way she smiled and laughed with her best friends while keeping up her amazing grades, most people would think her life was knew her life was good, but she also knew it could be better.

Levy wouldn't really call it love, yet. It would have been really hard to call her feelings 'LOVE'. They weren't as strong as the ones she saw in Juvia's constant daydreaming, butthey also weren't the constant denials Erza sputtered out in her obvious attraction to Jellal.

Her feelings were more like part admiration, part fascination, part curiosity and part forgiveness... "Levy is an immaculately kind person," her friends would say. She constantly denied it- 'I can't be that good' - but her friends insisted. With the way she smiled, she couldn't really disprove them.

That night, she just wanted to make a new friend.

So, holding a bundle of handouts and photocopied handwritten notes in her arms, she walked on confidently. Levy was a shy girl outside her tight circle of friends and she always needed an extra push to deal with other people. She had the papers - they're her excuse, her reason, her offense and her defense.

The bluenette stopped in front of an apartment complex, took several flights of stairs, and then finally faced the door of the unit tagged 'Lockser and Redfox'.

"I hope Juvia-chan's home." she whispered, but when she rang the doorbell, she found herself wishing otherwise. 'No, I hope Gajeel is alone.'

The door opened and Gajeel Redfox's face greeted her. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her. "The fuck are you here?"

"Good evening, Gajeel." she instead replied, smiling what she hoped was her winning smile.

Gajeel looked away - he always does, because for a reason that she had only guessed, he can't stand to look her in the eye . "Juvi's not home yet, she went to see good ol' Frostbite."

Levy nodded her head good-naturedly. "I'm not here for Juvia. Erza asked me to give you some notes and handouts since you were absent for the better part of the week. I didn't get to ask you at school, but did something happen?"

"Nothing important." Gajeel grumbled, and then eyed the bundle of papers the girl held tight to her chest. "Why would Titania send you?" - because nobody wanted Levy even five feet within Gajeel's reach. Nobody could forget what happened to them back then-...

"I volunteered." Levy simply said, before noticing something on the young man's face. "Gajeel, is... is that a black-eye?"

Gajeel shrugged. "Juvia punched me."

Levy raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you."

"She did." he insisted. "She was upset but I'll just fix her when she gets back. But that's none of your business. And I don't need those." He was looking down at the papers in her arms.

"What-"

Gajeel looked at her shortly before turning his gaze back to his fluffy green kiwi-patterned slippers. "The notes, I don't need 'em."

"But-"

"I live with Juvia, I can copy her stuff easy."

"Oh." - Levy, for all her wits, hadn't thought of that bit. 'Crap, I'm busted.'

"Yeah. So go away."

Levy changed tactics. Plan A didn't work, and because there's no Plan B, she just went straight to the point. "Well, okay. I'm also here to talk to you."

Gajeel looked at her, alarmed. "What do you want?"

The honor student breathed heavily, then looked at Fairy Gakuen's "Iron Dragon" with set eyes. She said what she had been dying to say for months on end: "I want you to get over everything and forgive yourself, because I am so tired of still not being your friend."

"W-What?" he looked at her again, this time incredulously. Where did the meek shorty from a while ago go? "I don't-"

"And please let me in, I've had to walk five flights of stairs to get here, you know."

"Fuck." Gajeel cursed, but he didn't try to shove her away. He knew that the bookworm would just continue to insist. Plus, she might tell Juvia. He let Levy in and the first thing she noted was how tidy the unit was, how everything seemed so.. so Juvia - all laces and blues and water patterns and a teru-teru bozu doll in the window. There were some things that indicated Gajeel's share: his black torn bag in the couch and his unkempt books and school stuff in the table, his phone on the counter, a discarded shirt somewhere, some messy doodles and notes in the post-its on the fridge. Levy also noted the black cat lounging on top of the dining table.

"When did Juvia-chan get a cat?"

"No, Lily's mine."

Levy reached out to scratch the cat's chin.

"He's a snob." Gajeel warned.

But the cat purred against Levy sweetly.

"He's a sweetheart!" Levy squealed.

Gajeel grumbled something about bipolar felines before telling Levy to take a seat and heading to the kitchen. He came back quickly, slamming two cans of soda on the coffee table before sitting on the couch across from her. She knew he only did it to be polite.

"So, what's the talk gon' be about, shorty?"

"Us." the girl answered quickly, straightening her position on the sofa and looking straight into deep black eyes.

Silence prevailed for a moment.

They both knew that this wouldn't be an easy conversation.

"I don't even want to know what the hell you're trying to talk about." Gajeel said roughly, clenching his soda can. Levy kept her gaze level but her hands continued to fiddle with her uniform skirt.

The girl took a deep breath again. "Gajeel, I'm not afraid of or even mad at you."

"Like fuck you aren't." he snorted.

"It's true." Levy said, her eyes completely honest.

"Look." he said, leaning forward and slamming a hand against the table between them. "One month. You were in that fucking hospital for one month because I beat you and those two guys up to pick a fight with that idiot Salamander and his bunch of friends. I'm a bastard-"

"Was. Not anymore-"

"Look, I still go home with a black-eye and a bleeding nose every other night because I was beating punks up-"

"But I know you're just defending yourself! They pick the fights, but you don't hurt people for fun anymore-"

Anymore - it's a word that Levy always wanted to use against Gajeel and his arguments. 'Not anymore.', she always wanted to insist, 'because he's one of us now and we should trust him.' She believed that. She had said that to herself over and over and over again, like a prayer.

"It doesn't change the fact that when I was in Phantom, I beat you up - girl half my freakin' size - because it was fun, because I wanted to fight Natsu, and you were begging - I remember that so clearly - you were beggin' for me to just fucking take it all out on you and leave all your friends clear-"

Levy couldn't take that much of a flashback - "But that's over!"

"You almost died! I don't even know how you're in front of me and not scared because I'm a fucking monster-"

"A monster wouldn't have a cat as cute as that!" Levy cut him off quickly, and Gajeel just gaped at her as she pointed at Lily, who was watching them attentively. "Look, you live with a very pretty girl and you don't take advantage of her-"

"That's because Juvi can beat me into a pulp if she really wanted to-"

Levy groaned out a pained "That's not the point!"

"You brought it up!" Gajeel's face was the very picture of confusion. "Why are you so random?!"

"Because it's so hard to talk to you! I can't figure out what I should say to get you to listen!" There it was. Out in the open. Levy had leaned forward too, but she ignored that because at that moment, she was just thankful that she was brave enough to argue.

"Why d'you even wanna friends with someone who tried to kill you?!" the young man promptly roared out.

Levy didn't want to back down. Not when she was getting what she came there for - a conversation. She tried to summon up more courage... One more retort, she prayed. "Why d'you wanna scare me away after I've finally learned not to be afraid of you?"

"I never asked for forgiveness-"

Levy wasn't having that - "Yes, but so what, you can take all your life without even looking me in the eye? Maybe you could take it-... hell, maybe you WILL take it, but I can't bear that because no one is bad enough to deserve hating himself."

Gajeel looked at the girl's determined expression.

He asked, "Why are you trying so hard to help me?"

Levy only smiled weakly, looking down. "Why are you trying so hard to stop me from helping you?"

A cracking sound interrupted their argument. Gajeel looked down to see his soda can almost crushed in his fist. A hissing sound followed as the beverage spilled out from the can and dripped down to the floor.

"Shit, Juvi loves this carpet." the young man mumbled, abandoning the crushed can in the table between them and flicking off the sticky liquid from his hand. Without a word, he stood up and headed to the kitchen to wash up and get a dishrag.

Levy looked down and she finally realized that when they were shouting questions at each other, Gajeel was looking into her eyes. Yes, she saw Gajeel's point, but what she didn't understand is why he was so intent on hating himself. Yes, the Phantom Lord Gang versus FairyGaku all-out fight a year ago had been one of the most destructive fights in Magnolia. Fairy High was known to have delinquent students who got into street brawls but when those students were joined by the others who were generally responsible and level-head, it shook the town

Levy, Jet and Droy had been the first victims - they were the unofficial front line and they didn't know it. Seeing them beaten so mercilessly set their closest friends on the offensive. Then, even worse, Phantom also got a hold of Lucy. As predicted, Natsu, Gray, Elfman and the other guys stepped up quick, but nobody expected Erza and Cana to step in right after the boys. Levy was told that even Mira had been there, that Gildarts and Makarov did everything in their power to stop the fights, minimize the casualties and keep the children from getting expelled.

All she really remembered was begging Gajeel to do his worst to her but leave her friends alone, and him laughing, because he was hurting her and breaking her, and that was what he knew how to do - he wouldn't leave anyone alone because he never promised anything to anyone. That wasn't him.

After the fight, Juvia went to FairyGaku all on her own. Makarov asked Gajeel to come along because the old man didn't believe in breaking the enemy. The headmaster just wanted to change the boy from worst to good. Levy knew that. Makarov talked to her himself.

"Do you hate Gajeel?"

"Are you scared of him?"

"Will you be able to forgive him?"

"Will you ever forget what he did?"

Makarov asked her those four questions on her first day back in school after her month in the hospital. He didn't actually want to hear the answers - he simply asked the girl to tell Gajeel when she was ready.

Gajeel's approaching footsteps snapped Levy out of her train of thought as he stopped to stand in front of her.

"Did you ever hate me?" he asked in a low voice, looking down at the top of her head, because she was looking down at her shoes.

"Of course." Then she looked up at him and this time he held her gaze. "Headmaster Makarov asked me four questions about you after I went back from the hospital, did you know that?"

"No."

Levy smiled slightly and Gajeel sat on the table right across her, their knees touching, challenging her to tell him. "First question: Do I hate you? Yes, because you hurt the people I love."

"Noted." He replied.

Levy went on. "Am I scared of you? Yes, because you meant what you did to me."

"Yeah. I did."

"Will I be able to forgive you? Yes, because people change, and you're with us now."

He didn't answer, choosing to just look at her as she breathed heavily before speaking again.

"Will I ever forget what you did? No, I don't want to - because someday, I'll look back on that and then look at you in that future and I'll nod my head and say that you've really changed for the better."

Levy looked at him as he bowed his head and buried his face in his hands and he groaned, "Godfuckingdammit."

The honor student blinked and stammered out a startled, "W-W-What?"

"You're so smart.", he saidsays, his voice muffled against his hands.

"H-Huh?"

"And kind," he added.

Levy smiled. Somehow she felt as if a burden had been taken off from her shoulders. "So will you please take the handouts and come to school and stop acting like I'm air?"

Gajeel sighed, resting his chin on his hands grumpily. "Yes, yes, no."

The girl pouted. "But-"

He grabbed the handouts from beside her and stood up as he flipped through the papers, turning his back to her.

He said, "I don't act like you're air. I'm pretty sure you don't exist. You're too good."

Levy furrowed her brows. That was rude. "Gajeel, that's mean!"

"It was a compliment." He argued, still not bothering to face her.

"Make it sound like one." Levy complained, straightening her skirt out and then stroking the fur of the black cat that had just climbed on her lap as if they had known each other forever. "I didn't expect you to be a cat person..."

"Oi."

"Hm?"

"You wanna be friends, right?"

Levy looked at him, smiling teasingly. "Will that be hard, tough guy like you?"

"Yeah. Will bruise my rep, my first friend will be a shorty nerd bookworm."

"But there's Juvia-chan! And you're already friends with Natsu and Gray. And Lucy! Technically I'll be the fifth."

"Who said I'm friends with those bastards and that chick?"

"Well, there was that musical number you did with Lucy. Natsu and Gray because they like that you were with 'em when they beat up the Oracion guys last time. Sounds like perf bros to me."

"How d'you even know I was there?"

Levy smirked. "Natsu tells Lucy everything."

"Goddamn Salamander and Bunny Girl."

"So are we friends?" Levy cocked her head to the side to peer at his face, but Gajeel hid behind the notebooks again.

"I don't know."

"But can you please call me by my name from now on?"

"I don't want to. 'Shorty' sounds good enough." Gajeel said, looking back at her. "What're you smiling about?"

"Nothing. I just..." she trailed off, shrugging. "It's just nice that you let me say what I had to say. Thanks. I think... I'll go home now."

Lily purred. When Gajeel looked at the cat, Levy was amused to see the cat gazing back knowingly, as if pet and owner were challenging each other.

Finally, Gajeel picked the cat up and dropped the feline back down on the table. Lily landed on all fours and proceeded to saunter away from them, towards a basket on the corner of the room.

"I'll walk you home." Gajeel said grumpily - as if that was the result of whatever telepathic debate he had with Lily.

Levy didn't want to intrude, though, because he sounded like he was forcing himself. "No, I'll be-"

"Just let me do it."

Levy looked at him for a while before shrugging. She stood up happily and followed him out the flat. She watched him send a quick text to Juvia before they made their way down the five flights of stairs.

* * *

As they walked the silent night streets of Magnolia, Levy broke the ice.

"So how did you get the black-eye?"

"It was so fucking stupid." Gajeel sighed. "You'll laugh."

"I wanna hear it anyway." the girl insisted, smiling her winning smile again.

"Ya know that box where she keeps her teabags? I left the windows open for Lily and when I saw a frog jump in the godforsaken box, I closed it to mess with the fuckin' amphibian."

"And Juvia-chan opened it?"

"I freakin' forgot that I left it there, alright? She thought I was playing a prank on her but it had to be a fucking FROG for fuck's sake. NEVER talk to Juvi about frogs. They scare the living shit outta her. And I made the friggin' mistake of admittin' that I'm responsible."

"And then she punched you?"

"She was so busy crying and thinking I tricked her but when I said it was stupid, she punched me." Gajeel said, cringing at the memory. Juvia wasn't an ex-member of the Phantom Gang for nothing - that girl could be sickeningly sweet but she punched like a boxer. Gajeel rubbed his black-eye and Levy laughed. "She was really upset and she ran to her boyfriend's flat. I think I'll just bring her flowers. She likes the expensive weeds."

"That'll be really sweet for you to do, you know. The flowers."

"Shut up. If she keeps being upset, she might poison my breakfast so I have to be good."

Levy giggled again, then kept silent. A few moments of silence, then Gajeel spoke up.

"Oi, shorty."

"Yes?"

"Why did you decide to rant about all that crap about us tonight of all nights?"

"Because," Levy started, "Some bullies took my reading glasses last week and this morning, I found them back in my locker."

Gajeel looked away. "What the hell does that have to-"

"Also, Cana-chan told me that there were some girls who were badmouthing me and before she could kick their sorry asses, someone else stepped in and told them to shut up."

"I don't know anything-"

"Here's another one! Last month there was a ton of heavy books I was supposed to carry from the classroom to the library and I went out a bit to go to the girl's restrooms. When I came back, they weren't there anymore. Sensei said that Redfox told him he's being stupid, asking a half-pint to carry that many books."

"Well it was true-"

"At The Strauss', I overheard Laxus telling Mira about Fairy High's Iron Dragon letting himself be beaten up by two other students-"

"Your boys."

"Not mine, but yes, they're my best friends. I'll have to talk to them about that, but I'm saying sorry on their behalf. I heard Laxus say you didn't fight back."

"The idiots couldn't pack a punch. It tickled a bit, though."

"Of course." Levy giggled.

"Don't do that, it's annoying."

Levy was a firm believer. She believed that she could prove this feeling she loosely called love. There isn't one single feeling called love, she knew. Her feeling was only one kind of love.

'Love' because she indeed loved how Gajeel had been watching over her behind her back. She had grown to love the ways he was quietly doing her favors thinking that she didn't know it was him. Levy loved him because he was already her friend even before he knew that he was being one.

Levy believed herself a good judge of character. As the friend she didn't know she had (and she was sure he didn't know he was being), she thought that Gajeel was one of the best ones she had - and he was just starting to change, so she was sure to expect even better.

Levy was also a hard worker. She had decided to work hard on that friendship because she was sure that he'd be someone she could be proud of someday.

Levy thought it was ironic - he was the one who was guilty, but right then, she felt like she was the one who got freed.

* * *

.

.

.

**A/N:** That's it! I didn't want the relationship to develop straight into romance - I like them being comfortable friends. Anyways, more chapters a-comin'! Review to give me your comments? :)

**Coming up next:  
"Wherefore Art Thou Romeo"**

Hints of RomWen (is that what it's called?), and cute dashes of NaLu all over the place.


	7. Track 07: One Thing

**A/N: **Well, here we are, moving forward. Short Q and A:

_* Will the minor characters have chapters too?_ - Yes! Right now I've written Alzack and Bisca's, and there's already plans for Jet and Droy, Macao, The Raijinshuu, Mira, Lisanna and Makarov. :)

_* When will that goddamned bet end?_ - It's a thing now, guys. Just like how all of Magnolia ships Jerza, all of Magnolia is also in on that Natsu-and-Lucy bet. I think I should make that a running gag. Haha!

The last chapter was really simple, with only three characters involved, but this one has one-.. two-.. THREE families, actually! It's about Romeo - everyone's little brother. He's cute. Also, Wendy's cute, and since people seem to like them together, I figured giving them their moments wouldn't hurt. But at the core of this, it's basically Romeo and how he knows everyone and everyone knows him.

Plus, NaLu. So much. Cute. NaLu. Because I can't help it.

The chapter should actually be called 'Wherefore Art Thou Natsu', but this is about Romeo, so...

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 07: One Thing  
**..aka "Wherefore Art Thou Romeo"

_"Now I'm climbing the walls but you don't notice at all  
That I'm going out of my mind all day and all night"_  
- One Direction

Gildarts was listening to the local radio station that afternoon as he lounged lazily in the police booth. The school dismissal rush hour had just finished andthe initial surge of students running out the school gates had dispersed. He noted the usual smaller groups of kids leaving after cleaning duty or club activities. He himself had been greeted by Juvia-chan and Bisca-chan on their way home from swimming club.

The police officer raised an eyebrow, though, when he saw a certain boy run out from the FairyGaku gates.

Romeo Conbolt was in Junior High, he knew. The 12-year old had lived in Magnolia all his life and Gildarts was a good friend of the boy's father, Macao.

"Oi, Romeo!" Gildarts called, just as the boy was passing by the booth.

Romeo, messy and clumsy as always, did a double-take when the police officer called him. "Gildarts!"

"Tuck your shirt in." Gildarts said with an amused smile. Romeo pouted, not relenting. His idol Natsu never tucked his shirt in! "What's the hurry?"

The boy blinked and then looked at the man in realization - Gildarts could help him! "Have you seen Natsu? I went inside to ask Erza-nee and she said he left early."

Gildarts smirked. Of course Romeo was just looking for Natsu. Romeo idolized Natsu and Natsu was proud to call the boy his 'apprentice'. "I didn't really notice 'im, but if it's Natsu, he probably went to the arcade."

The boy nodded. "The arcade. Great, thanks!"

Before Gildarts could say any more, the boy was running down the street again. The officer simply shook his head and shrugged.

* * *

Magnolia's arcade was filled with students in the early hours after school and Romeo had to squeeze his way in. He didn't find a head of pink, but he did recognize Jet, Droy and Max playing a shooting game. Droy and Max were in dual player mode and Jet was simply cheering them on, so Romeo went to ask him.

"Natsu?" Jet repeated. The boy nodded. "He was here a while ago but his dad called, I think. He told us he's going to The Dragon. Don't you have his number?"

"I do, but it's not really useful 'cause I don't have a phone." Romeo shrugged.

Max looked away from his game and pat the boy dismissively on the head. "Well, The Dragon's just four blocks away, maybe you can still catch him there."

* * *

The Fire Dragon was a prestigious-looking restaurant on the outside but inside, it was bustling with life, customers and patrons talking rowdily and animatedly.

"The Dragon", as it was more commonly called, was not really a 'rich-people' restaurant. The aesthetics only gave off that impression. It was actually an affordable and busy place that people liked to visit because of its delicious spicy menu.

Romeo, determined not to have to squeeze his way in as with the arcade earlier, went through the back door.

He was immediately greeted by the sight of Cana about to take out the trash. He remembered that she worked part-time in the restaurant.

"Cana-nee-chan!" Romeo smiled, finally recognizing a more reliable face.

"Oh. Romeo." Cana said, blinking at the kid. "What's up? Your dad's in the kitchen as usual."

Romeo nodded. The people at The Dragon were used to him. Besides practically being Natsu's little brother, he was also the son of Macao, their veteran cook - the man responsible for bringing Igneel's recipes to fruition. Although Romeo didn't like his dad all that much lately...

"Yeah, I know that." he quickly said. "Is Natsu here?"

Cana shrugged. "I don't know if he's still in, but last I checked, he is. I've been on the floor, though, so I can't really be sure. Try to take a peek on the kitchen."

"Okay. Thanks!"

"No problem, kid."

Cana went out the back door with the large bags of trash as Romeo made his way to kitchens first. He saw his dad and the other cooks busy, but still no sign of Natsu. He headed to the counter next, where Igneel was supervising his cashiers.

"Hey, Igneel." Romeo called, sitting on one spare stool.

Igneel looked at him and smiled as if it was the most normal thing in the world to turn around and find the boy sitting there. "Romeo! Came to help, too?"

Romeo blinked up at the man, then asked "Not really, but am I needed?" He was willing to take up small tasks for the man. During The Dragon's peak seasons, he sometimes worked alongside Natsu to lend two extra pairs of hands for the restaurant.

"Not anymore, we've recovered from the initial onslaught! There was a party here just a while ago and it got really busy!" Igneel laughed. "Came to drop by on your dad?"

"No." Romeo said, a little too grumpily. "I heard Natsu's in."

"Ah, yeah. One of the cooks was running late so I asked Natsu to sub."

"I didn't see him in the kitchen."

"Yeah, when the cook arrived, I told him he could go." Igneel answered, then noted the boy's disappointed expression. "Oh hey, Lucy came to pick him up. They said they're going to Mira-chan's."

"The Strauss'?"

"Yep, said something about Laxus and his band."

"Ah, yeah..." Romeo said, nodding slowly. "I'll be going there now. Thanks, Igneel."

"Anytime, buddy." Igneel answered, watching to boy slip through the back door again. He returned to supervising his employees.

Macao poked his head from the kitchen. "Igneel, was that Romeo?"

"Yeah, just asked me where Natsu is."

"He didn't even greet his dad..."

Igneel laughed. "Relax, man. He's just at that age!"

Macao sighed and simply went back to his work.

* * *

The Strauss' Bar and Cafe was a busy affair as well. Igneel said something about Laxus and his band, and Romeo knew what it could be. The Raijinshuu would be playing at Mira's - that's why the bar was filled with teens and younger-than-usual adults. Kinana and Mira were busy on the bar and Romeo didn't want to bother them. However, as he walked around searching the place for traces of Natsu or even Lucy, he failed to look at where he was going and he bumped against a large guy.

"Whoa, kid!" Elfman said, carrying a tray of, thankfully, empty glasses. He was helping out too. "Watch it."

"Elfman, have you seen Natsu?" Romeo asked.

Elfman relaxed when he saw that it was just Romeo. "Ah, they were here a while ago, Natsu and Lucy. Went backstage to talk to the band, I think."

"Okay."

"I'm sure you're welcome there, too. Head on over."

Romeo did as he was told and went backstage, where the Raijinshuu were getting ready.

The four band members were formerly FairyGaku students. They had been together since their high school days, and up until now, they still played some gigs when they weren't busy with college. They had lots of fans in the locale, as far as Romeo knew.

When the boy stepped in the room, Laxus and Freed were busy adjusting their respective guitars, Evergreen was busy vocalizing, and Bixlow... Well, he wasn't busy. He was just twirling his drumsticks in his hands.

"Hey, it's Romeo." Bixlow said, even before the kid could speak up. The rest of the band looked at him.

Romeo suddenly swallowed. They were looking at him so... curiously.

"What's up, bro? Here to watch us play?" Bixlow asked.

"Um, not really…" he answered, scratching his head. Romeo then asked, nervously, "Um, did Natsu drop by?"

"Yeah." Laxus answered quickly. "Idiot was challenging me to a fight."

Freed cleared his throat, then said, "Actually, Lucy just wanted to greet us quickly because they won't be able to watch us play. I think they had to go home or something."

Evergreen followed up. "Though yes, Natsu challenged Laxus too, but that's not new."

"Oh. Okay. They went home, yeah?" Romeo asked.

Bixlow nodded vigorously, ever their hyper drummer. "Yep, yep! Probably to make cute little babi-"

"Bix!" Freed scolded - he wasn't going to let his bandmate pollute such a young innocent mind! Romeo only blinked, clueless.

"Shutting." Bixlow said. "Don't wanna annoy Mama Freed. He'll tell Papa Laxus."

Freed glared at his friend. "Stop it."

Evergreen giggled, then stopped when Laxus looked at her weirdly. "Has he always been like this?"

"Bixlow is special." Freed grumbled.

"Heeeey!"

They didn't notice as Romeo took his leave.

* * *

Romeo stopped in front of the Dragneel residence.

He sighed. Hopefully, Natsu would be home, or he'd just give up and go home himself.

Home was the house next door, anyways. Natsu had been his big brother not only because their fathers were friends but also because they lived right next to each other.

Seeing the lights on at Natsu's room made Romeo smile. Either Natsu was home, or the stupid burglar turned the lights on.

He rang the bell several times and waited for a couple seconds to see Natsu open up his window and then look out.

"Oh hey there, Romeo!" Natsu gave him a wide smile.

Romeo sighed in relief. Finally! "Natsu, I looked everywhere for you! I have something to tell ya!"

"Yeah? Let yourself in, man! Come up here!" Natsu said, and Romeo did as he was told. He always thought it was risky that the Dragneels never locked their gate or front door. Nevertheless, the boy let himself in and went straight to Natsu's room. He knew the house by heart.

"Natsu!" he barged in excitedly, only to pause abruptly when he saw Lucy sitting up on the bed, typing something in her laptop. Happy was lounging by the blonde's legs. The bed was littered with several notebooks and textbooks. "Lucy-nee?"

"Romeo." Lucy smiled. "What is it? Come in!" - then she called out, "Natsu, Romeo's here!"

Natsu went out from the bathroom and then grinned widely at Romeo. "So, what is it you wanna tell me?"

Romeo seemingly forgot his initial excitement. "Err, am I interrupting anything?"

"Actually, we're doing homework..." Natsu said slowly.

"Nope, you're not interrupting anything!" Lucy quickly followed up. She reached out to push aside the school things beside her and make space for Romeo on the bed. "Come in, sit down!"

Romeo reluctantly dropped his bag by the doorway and sat down on the bed.

"I'm the one doing homework anyway, because someone's too lazy." Lucy said. Natsu pouted at her. Lucy huffed. "Go on with your boy talk. Pretend I'm not here."

"You're missing Raijinshuu play?" Romeo asked. He knew that Natsu and Lucy sometimes did homework together, but he didn't think they'd pass up Raijinshuu for it. They both liked the music very much.

"We planned to watch, but Igneel wanted to have dinner and invite the neighbors; the ones who just moved in. He asked me to buy ingredients and he'll cook when he gets home. And because Lucy eats like a cow, she passed up the gig to eat instea-" Natsu stopped when his face met a pillow.

Lucy smiled at Romeo. "I figured that tonight, going to see the band is not really practical since this homework is due tomorrow. Better a quiet night than having to pull an all-nighter to finish this, right?"

"Oh. Yeah. I guess." Romeo nodded, understanding the young woman's point.

"So what'cha wanna talk about, man?" Natsu asked Romeo again, absently stroking Happy's fur as he sat down with his companions on the bed.

Romeo smiled excitedly again. He struggled to retrieve something from his pocket as he started, "You gotta see this. Waitaminute, where did I put it... Here! Natsu-"

"Tadaima!" - Igneel's booming voice interrupted whatever the boy had to say. They heard the man call out, "Natsu, ya there? 'Ya buy what we need?"

"Yeah!" Natsu stood up, then looked at the boy. "I'll be back, bro." He ran out the room and left the door open. Lucy and Romeo heard Natsu ask, "Need any help with cookin', dad?"

They heard Igneel say, "Yeah, let's get this started!"

"Well, that's going to take a while." Lucy mused, engrossed with her homework. She looked up to see Romeo scratching his head. "You should just stay for dinner, Romeo. They're inviting the people next door. You should meet them. They're your neighbors, too."

"Yeah, maybe I'll stay for dinner." Romeo nodded. He was sure his dad would be coming home late again, anyways. "I should probably change, though. I'll be back later, Lucy-nee!"

"Mm'kay." Lucy said, glancing at the boy before returning to her homework. Romeo grabbed his bag and went downstairs. She heard him faintly telling Natsu that he was going for a quick shower, and then Igneel inviting the boy for dinner

After a while, Lucy abandoned her homework and joined the Dragneels in the kitchen, asking them if she could help with anything. Both of them politely declined.

'Polite' for the Dragneels meant that Igneel said, "Oh, sweetheart, you're a guest, you shouldn't bother!" while Natsu practically shouted, "NO, LUCE! YOU CAN'T COOK FOR SHIT!"

Sometimes Lucy still had a hard time believing that Natsu had superb cooking skills that he got from his dad. And then sometimes, Lucy cursed the fact that she's a kitchen hazard.

The world is weird.

* * *

As Romeo was about to go through the Dragneels' gates, he heard a high-pitched yelp from the street. He immediately rushed over to see what the matter was.

He saw a girl with long midnight blue hair, wearing his school's uniform, struggling as she dropped the handful of books she was carrying.

"Here, lemme help you with that." Romeo said, picking up two of the books and handing it to the girl. "These books are heavy, can you carry them all by yourself?"

"Thank you so much." the girl answered, looking at him as she fixed the books on her arms again.

Romeo stared at her. She was an inch or two taller than him, with a shy smile and big innocent, friendly eyes. He stood there dumbly, looking at her and trying to remember if he had seen her before.

"Don't worry, my house is just over there." she said with a kind smile, bowing slightly. "Thank you for your help..."

"U-Um-... Y-Yeah..."

Romeo watched, dumbfounded, as the girl kept walking, and then went through the gates of the house just next to the Dragneels...

Romeo practically barged back inside the Dragneel residence. "NATSU! IGNEEL!"

The three people in the kitchen all looked up at him.

"I thought you were going to change." Lucy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Are... Are.. Are we inviting the new neighbors...?" Romeo turned to Igneel.

"Yeah, that's kind of the whole point of us cooking lots... Also, change into something decent, son. You look like hell." Igneel said, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you asking?"

"T-T-There's... um, this girl... do you know if she's one of the people who just moved in?"

"They're basically the parents, two sons and a daughter. I'm not sure but maybe you're talking about the daughter." - and then it was followed with the inevitable "Why?"

"I... I saw her just now..."

At this, Lucy and Igneel had begun to grin.

"Yeah, so?" Natsu asked, not picking up with the pace yet.

Romeo struggled to say what he really wanted to say. "So... I saw her!"

"Yeah. We got that." Natsu nodded. The other two 'adults' simply watched. When Romeo simply stared at him, Natsu tried again. "So?"

"She... she was..." Romeo stuttered, then looked down. After a while of fidgeting and scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he finally gave up and said, "She was really... cute...?"

They looked at him.

Happy meowed.

"Happy says you like her." Natsu deadpanned. "I agree."

The boy blushed, then looked at the cat angrily. "N-No, Happy, it's not like that! I don't like her!"

"Romeo, sweetie." Lucy interrupted kindly, with an amused smile on her face. "We're going to have dinner with that girl you "don't" like, so you should change into something nice."

Romeo looked at her, blushing. "It's not that I don't like her! Well, I... I don't hate her, but-"

Lucy smiled a little more widely - frighteningly, actually - this time. "Dear? Shower. And brush your hair after."

"Got it!" the boy said, then ran out the house hurriedly.

Igneel whistled, returning to the dish he was stirring. "Guess our boy fell in love at first sight, huh."

"Wow." Natsu chuckled as he went back to expertly chopping meat and veggies.

"He's so cute." Lucy sighed, resuming her work too. They didn't let her in the kitchen, so she busied herself with preparing the dining table.

After a few moments, Natsu said, "Lucy, you'll make a good mom."

Lucy looked at his with a raised eyebrow, then simply chuckled. "Thank you." she said, gracefully doing a mock curtsy.

"I demand ten grandchildren." Igneel said, not looking up from his cooking.

The teens looked up at him.

"What're you talking about, dad?" Natsu said, his tone slightly annoyed. "If it's me and Lucy, we'll give you forty."

"No way!" Lucy cried, looking at them with a scandalized expression. Then, she corrected: "Twenty is enough."

"Thirty-five." Natsu argued.

Lucy huffed. "Twenty."

"Thirty-four!"

"Twenty-five."

"Thirty." Natsu said, and his expression said it was the last offer.

The blonde sighed. "Deal."

Igneel laughed. "Hah - thirty! I'll remember this day!" Natsu and Lucy looked at each other and then laughed too.

* * *

Lucy had to convince Igneel and Natsu that she really wasn't supposed to be the one to invite their neighbors over because it wasn't her house. Sighing, Igneel headed over to invite them instead. Romeo came back freshly-showered and wearing decent clothes. His hair stuck out in different directions and Lucy had to brush it for him. She seated the boy on the couch and started working on his messy hair.

Natsu was watching them and smiling slyly. "Luigi-mama."

Lucy simply stuck out her tongue childishly and then gave Romeo one last pat on the head. "Do you know if your dad's coming?"

"He's still at The Dragon, told me to eat with you and enjoy." Romeo said, looking down.

"At least he's telling you to enjoy." Lucy said with a fond smile. "My dad doesn't even know I'm here."

Natsu reached out to give the blonde's hand a quick squeeze. Lucy nodded gently at him.

Romeo saw this exchange. The boy simply said, "Natsu, please give me tips."

"Tips for what?" Natsu said, still not letting go of Lucy's hand even when the blonde sat right beside him.

"Well, you got Lucy-nee to date you." Romeo shrugged, looking at them.

They both laughed. "We're not dating, silly." Lucy said, chuckling. "We're just friends." Natsu nodded contentedly, although the two teens openly snuggling in front of the boy contradicted the statement they had just made.

Romeo raised an eyebrow, then mumbled to himself, "I have to ask Levy-nee about that bet." He was adjusting the collar of his shirt because he felt uncomfortable after Lucy fixed it for him. It felt so... formal. When Happy sat on his lap, Romeo simply pat the cat on the head.

In front of him, Lucy and Natsu were engrossed in their usual banter again, Natsu complaining when Lucy also started fixing his spiky hair and his hoodie.

After a while, Romeo watched them go back to the kitchen, saying something about drinks and rice.

Just then, Igneel opened the door with a flourish, practically saying, "Welcome to our humble home!" proudly to their guests. Lucy was just taking out the drinks and Natsu was serving the dishes when their visitors stepped inside.

"Kids, let's get this dinner started!" Igneel called out.

"The table's ready!" Natsu said. "Romeo, c'mere now!" Romeo also joined them at the dining room, bringing Happy with him and then settling the cat beside the feline's bowl by the counter.

"Come in, come in, don't be shy!" Igneel said, ushering their new neighbors in.

Jellal nodded politely at the man. "You have a nice place, Dragneel-san." He was holding Charle in his arms.

"Thanks for inviting us over." Mystogan said. Wendy smiled shyly, clinging to her brother's arm.

"Shush, and please just call me Igneel." Igneel said, leading them to the dining room. "Please take a seat, everyone."

"Ah! It's Mystogan-kun and Jellal-kun!" Lucy squealed in delight as she saw them. "So you're the new neighbors!"

"Lucy-san." the twins said, smiling lightly.

"You know 'em?" Natsu asked.

"Later." Lucy promised. Natsu let it pass.

"Looks like we all know each other here... Your cat goes to the counter - there's a bowl there." Igneel said as he sat at the head of the table. On one side were his 'kids' and on the other side, their guests. Jellal handed Charle over to Wendy. The girl sat between her brothers right after putting her pet beside Happy and telling the feline to behave. For the most part, both pets were looking at each other curiously. "Alright, before we start eating, kids, they're our new neighbors."

Jellal, the most outgoing of the siblings, took the liberty to introduce himself and his siblings. "I'm Jellal, and this is my twin Mystogan, and our little sister Wendy. Oh, and Charle. Our cat. Unfortunately, our dad is out of town, and our mom is still at work. We moved here because I got accepted to Sorciere and Wendy needed a new school."

"Nice meeting you." Both Mystogan and Wendy bowed slightly. Wendy smiled at Romeo, recognizing him from earlier. Romeo pouted, blushed, and looked away.

"Why's the name familiar?" Natsu leaned to his side to whisper to Lucy.

Lucy did the same, whispering back: "Erza's cake guy."

"Oh." Natsu simply nodded, then sat straight again, grinning innocently at their guests.

"Right, next time we invite you over, I hope your parents are here." Igneel said. "Well, you know me, I brought oden to you a while back... and just call me Igneel, okay? We own The Fire Dragon restaurant downtown."

"The one with spicy food?" Mystogan asked.

"That's the one." Igneel said, nodding happily. "Well, this is my son Natsu."

"Yo!" Natsu said, mock-saluting and grinning in his friendly manner.

"You should know Romeo over there, too. Romeo and his dad Macao live just beside us. Macao's still at work, though. Romeo, I think Wendy-chan goes to your school?"

"H-Hai. I... noticed her uniform earlier." Romeo nodded timidly, glancing at Wendy, who looked at him, and then went back to looking and listening obediently to their host.

Igneel turned to smile at the girl. "Wendy-chan, if you need any help, you can ask Romeo, alright?" The girl looked at him curiously. "Boy's been born and bred here, so everyone knows 'im."

"Oh. Thank you." Wendy said, looking at the boy across her. "Romeo-kun, it's very nice to meet you."

"Y-Yeah. You too." Romeo gave her a nervous smile, then looked away again.

"Oh, and yeah." Natsu said then. "And then here's Lucy, she's a freeload-"

"I just happen to be here." Lucy interrupted, keeping her voice pleasant. "We were... uh, doing homework. Natsu's a classmate."

"Ah." Jellal said, then he turned to Wendy. "Lucy-san is a good friend of Erza. She also goes to Fairy High."

"Oh." Wendy nodded. "Nice to meet you Lucy-san."

Lucy turned to Igneel. "They've lived here before and they knew Erza."

"Ah, Erza-chan! Alright, then I think all of you are friends, huh?" Igneel said, nodding approvingly. "Hm, now that that's done, let's all eat!"

"Itadakimasu!" the "kids" said, and for a while Igneel watched them all dig in the dinner he and Natsu prepared, before he started his meal as well.

The cats by the counter were having their own moment. Happy backed off from his fish and was practically telling Charle to have it. The white cat sniffed suspiciously on the food for a while before helping herself. Happy watched in fascination.

After a while, Igneel engaged Jellal in a conversation of what his parents did for a living. Natsu joined in shortly.

Lucy looked around. Romeo was timidly stealing glances at Wendy, while the girl was innocently eating her dinner beside her brother. Mystogan complimented the food and told his sister that they should come to The Dragon sometime to eat, to which the girl nodded enthusiastically before resuming her silent meal.

Lucy also noted Wendy looking at Romeo hopefully - maybe the girl hoped for conversation with someone her age, but Romeo only looked grumpy as he pretended not to be utterly interested on the girl.

The blonde smiled and tried to initiate conversation - Natsu and Igneel were busy talking to Jellal.

"So Wendy-chan," Lucy started, catching the girl's attention.

Wendy looked up at the girl and Mystogan was thankful of Lucy's charm - he instantly saw that his sister was blushing when the young woman addressed her. "What do you think of Magnolia? You were just a toddler last time you were here, right?"

"Oh, it's... it's a really beautiful place. The river is very pretty and..." Wendy struggled to say an intelligent answer. As she spoke up, Romeo looked at her, but she didn't seem to notice. "...and the people are kind... and nice."

Lucy smiled. "I'm new here, too. I've only been here for, like, almost two years? Yep. And yeah, you gotta love that river, right? Specially during sunset."

"Yes!" Wendy nodded, grateful that the pretty blonde seemed to be pleased with her. "The town square is a really nice place, too."

"Made any friends yet? Your brothers are making many friends, but I'm sure you'll make more." Lucy said pleasantly, noticing that Romeo was interested in the conversation. Damn, that boy would owe her one after this! "I mean, you're really cute and friendly..."

"Oh, I... I've made one so far..." Wendy said, shyly, as if that would disappoint the blonde. Wendy's first friend was a pink-haired girl named Chelia, who was one year her senior and practically a star student... and she didn't even go to the same school! Wendy only met the girl because of a trip to the bookstore. Chelia had recognized Wendy's bracelet from her cousin Sherry's shop. "She's really kind."

"One?" Lucy asked, blinking. "Just... one?"

"She's very shy." Mystogan explained.

"Oh c'mon." Lucy grinned. "Count Romeo in! You have two now!"

Wendy looked at Romeo nervously, who pretended to be busy with his food again. "I... I don't think that's how it works-"

"No, it's fine." Romeo said, looking at her shortly, and then back at his plate. "I don't mind."

Wendy looked at him hesitantly. Lucy ruffled the boy's hair and looked at Wendy. "He's kinda grumpy right now, but you'll like him, believe me." Romeo blushed lightly and grumbled a grumpy 'Lucy-nee...' The blonde instead smiled encouragingly at the younger girl. "You'll take care of Wendy, right, Romeo? Introduce her to some of your friends?"

"Sure." Romeo nodded, letting out a small smile, which Wendy returned. Mystogan pat his sister on the back.

"And you can count me and Natsu in, too." Lucy said, addressing Wendy again. Natsu, hearing his name, turned to them. "You have four friends now."

This time, Wendy smiled brightly. She looked at Natsu, who gave her a thumbs up and then back at Lucy. The young woman in front of her was being so kind and nice, and to top it off, Lucy-san was very very pretty... "Thank you, Lucy-san. That means a lot."

"You're welcome! And anything for such a charming girl like you." Lucy said, winking.

"You're really beautiful, Lucy-san." Wendy said earnestly and Lucy just smiled at her fondly.

Lucy waved her off. "Aw, no! You're flattering me!"

"Careful, her head's getting big." Natsu suddenly chimed in.

"Oh, you shut up." Lucy snapped at him with a pout. "She's got better eyesight than you."

"Hey, just because I don't say you're pretty, it doesn't mean that I don't think you are." Natsu complained, then turned to Wendy. "She's weird, right?"

Wendy giggled, obviously entertained by the two teens' antics.

"It'll be nice if you say it sometimes." Lucy shrugged. "Not like I'm hoping that from you, though."

"Weirdooooo." Natsu jeered.

Wendy looked at the teens and then asked, "Is Lucy-san Natsu-san's girlfriend?"

"Let me answer that, Wendy-chan." Igneel said, temporarily interrupting his conversation with Jellal. "No, they're not dating. Why? Romeo, the floor's yours."

Romeo caught up quickly, looking at Wendy with a knowing smile then. "Because they're 'just friends', but nobody really believes that anymore. There's actually this bet going on..."

"I actually put in quite a respectable amount in that bet." Mystogan commented silently. Everyone looked at him.

"You're in it too?" Natsu raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were sane, man. You looked sane."

"They're treating us like lottery." Lucy shook her head tiredly.

"Someone put in a gift certificate in the pot." Mystogan reasoned out. "The stakes are good."

Lucy rolled her eyes and sighed. Natsu laughed and asked for details. Finally, Romeo worked out the courage to ask Wendy what class she's in, and Wendy was glad to be talking to someone her age.

Dinner became a lively affair with interesting conversations all over.

* * *

Grandine rang the doorbell just when they were finishing up dinner and Igneel let her in, once again introducing his 'kids' to the woman. After a few minutes of chit-chat, the new neighbors stood up to leave.

"The food was amazing, Igneel-san. Thanks for everything." Jellal said politely, his siblings behind him nodding their agreement.

Grandine thanked their neighbor for accommodating her children very kindly.

Lucy waved towards Wendy, and the girl waved back happily, an adoring look on her face. Over the course of the dinner, Lucy had discovered the girl's love for books, and they bonded over it for what little time the dinner lasted. Lucy would make sure to tell Levy about it later.

Lastly, Wendy turned to Romeo and gave him another bow. "Thank you again for earlier. I hope to see you around school."

"Yeah." Romeo said, standing slightly behind Lucy. "M-Maybe I can... drop by your classroom at lunch or something."

"Oh no, it'll be so troublesome!"

"It's fine, I can... introduce you to some of my other friends too."

"Thank you very much!" Wendy bowed again. "See you!"

Romeo nodded, and they all watched as their guests piled out the house and return to their home next door.

After a good long while, Romeo found himself being stared at.

Lucy, Natsu and Igneel had knowing smiles in their faces.

"What?" Romeo said, nervous.

"So?" Lucy asked, her tone teasing.

"So... what?" the boy asked, faking innocence.

A cat meowed.

"Please don't tell me Happy said I like her."

Natsu mused for a while. "But he did."

"H-H-HAPPY, SHUT UP!"

* * *

Later that night, Lucy was lying half-asleep on Natsu's bed. She just finished the homework (but to Natsu's credit, he did help a bit too) and she felt really sleepy. She was just waiting for Loke to come and pick her up.

"Hey." Natsu said, shoving aside the notebooks and papers that surrounded the blonde and sitting on the bed beside her. He poked her cheek. "Heeeeey. Hey, Luce."

"Hm?" Lucy mumbled, hugging a pillow to herself, not bothering to look up at him.

Natsu sighed, then pouted, obviously thinking hard about something. "Didn't Romeo come here a while ago to tell me something?"

Lucy looked up at him. Natsu was staring at the ceiling, as if the answers were there.

"Yeah." Lucy said then. "Come to think of it... yeah, he did."

"Did he even get to tell me?"

"No." Lucy said, rubbing her eyes. "Just ask him tomorrow. I mean, he's just next door."

"Yeah, okay." Natsu rested his back against the headboard and shrugged, absently playing with Lucy's hair.

After a while, Natsu spoke up again. "Luce?"

"Hm?"

"Romeo's just twelve, isn't he... uh, too young for the L-thing or something? I mean, I get it, it's kinda cute, but..."

"Sweetie," Lucy started, sounding very patient. Natsu looked down at her because she never called anyone 'sweetie' except when she was about to explain something that might be difficult for Natsu to understand. "Ever heard of what they call 'puppy love'? He's at that age when he notices girls his age and you've seen Wendy-chan - she really is charming."

"Hm." Natsu nodded. "Well, what if... you know... it's not... uh, all good?"

Lucy raised a hand and pat her best friend's knee reassuringly. "I think he just has this really huge crush on her, Natsu. But who knows, maybe they'll be good friends and maybe more than that? Or maybe they'll just stay friends. Romeo is a sensitive boy, I'm sure he'll realize early enough if his crush turns to something more or if it doesn't. Nevertheless, it's a good thing they're friends now."

Natsu nodded, accepting what he was told. Lucy was always right about these things.

"Romeo didn't take after your denseness, anyway." Lucy giggled.

"Oi." the pink-head pouted. "I'm not that dense."

"You are." Lucy insisted.

"No, you're just so much smarter."

"I'm not. You're just really REALLY insensitive sometimes." Lucy concluded, playing with the hem of Natsu's shorts lazily. "Not all times, of course. But most times."

"But Luce, what if Wendy dumps him? That's supposed to, like, hurt."

"I doubt that there will be dumping any time soon, Natsu."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Romeo looks like someone who'll take his time - in fact right now he's not even entirely sure, I think he just wants this girl to like him enough to hang out with him. And Wendy-chan... I think she'll have to be told explicitly for her to know what's really going on."

"Hm." Natsu considered that. "D'ya think I'm worrying too much?"

Lucy gave her companion's knee another pat, chuckling. "Oh, it's not that bad. You look adorable doing it."

Then they heard a car honking. Three times.

"That must be your dashing lion."

Lucy sighed. "Tell him I want to be lifted bridal style and then taken home to my bed."

Natsu looked at her. "He'll do that, you know."

"Yeah, he so will." the blonde said, abruptly sitting up. "I'm not risking it. It'll look so damn crazy. Help me with my notebooks?"

Natsu helped her fix her things and she said, "Thanks" and left him a quick peck on the cheek before she left. That last gesture got him blinking, but Lucy was sleepy so he shrugged it off.

He still thought it strange that Romeo completely forgot about whatever it was the boy wanted to tell his big-bro Natsu. Natsu wasn't used to Romeo just forgetting something he was interested in. He remembered little Romeo back then calling him 'Natsu-nii' all the time, and then the boy calling him plain 'Natsu' because Natsu told him to. Romeo had been so happy back then. Now Romeo was not just calling him plain 'Natsu', Romeo was also asking for advice... Actually, he just wasn't used to Romeo blushing and stuttering.

'People in love are weird.', thought Natsu. Then, he remembered what Lucy told him. 'Fine, fine, it's a crush. Okay. Still weird, though.'

Oh, well. His little brother and proud apprentice and best protégé liked this visibly likeable and really nice girl, and Natsu couldn't help but smile about that.

* * *

Romeo believed that he was a man of his words.

When lunchbreak came the next day, he went to class 2-A, peeking on the doorway, seeing Wendy just taking out her lunchbox.

"Hey. Conbolt." one of the students said. "Need something?"

"Ah, sempai, I... I'm actually here for Wen-... uh, Wendy-sempai." Romeo said, tentative. He hadn't thought about it before, but Wendy was indeed his sempai.

"The new girl?" the student raised an eyebrow, but simply shrugged. He called out, "Marvell-san, someone's lookin' for you."

Wendy looked up, surprised that her name was called. She saw Romeo by the doorway, who gestured to his own lunchbox.

Wendy smiled brightly and immediately stood up, carrying her lunch with her.

"Romeo-kun, you came..." the girl said appreciatively, and Romeo scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I did say I'll come, err... I guess I should call you sempai-"

"No, please, Wendy is okay." the girl insisted. "Are we going to have lunch together?"

"Yeah, if you like, me and my friends know this spot near the courtyard... And... um..."

Wendy didn't let him finish. She was just delighted to have someone invite her. "That's great! Please lead the way."

Romeo smiled lightly, then said, "Follow me."

* * *

Gildarts was listening to the local radio station that afternoon as he lounged lazily in the police booth. The school dismissal rush hour had just finishedand the initial surge of students running out the school gates had dispersed. He noted the usual smaller groups of kids leaving after cleaning duty or club activities. He himself had been greeted by Jet and Droy on their way home from computer club.

The police officer raised an eyebrow, though, when he saw a certain boy run out from the FairyGaku gates.

"Romeo!", the man called.

The boy stopped abruptly, then shouted across the street,"Gildarts, did Natsu drop by?"

Gildarts thought for a while. "Yeah!" he said, his voice loud enough to be heard across the street. "He said he's going home early to catch some anime!"

"Thanks!"

Romeo was just very very thankful that he wouldn't have to go around town to look for his big brother this time.

* * *

"Natsu-nii!" Romeo barged inside the house again, not bothering to knock or ring this time.

Natsu was alone in the living room, eating potato chips and watching his favorite anime. He looked up when the boy went in. "Yo, Romeo." and then he grinned at the boy. "Did'ya just call me Natsu-nii again?"

"Ahhh-... yeah, but nevermind that. I slipped." Romeo said, laughing uneasily. "Where's Lucy-nee?"

"I dunno, why're you askin' me?" Natsu raised an eyebrow, setting the television on mute and facing his guest.

"It's just that you're always together." the boy shrugged, sitting on the couch with the teen.

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Really."

"Oh well, we're not together right now." Natsu simply shrugged, then grinned again. "So what're ya here for?"

"I have something to tell you!"

Natsu smiled slyly, even raising a hand to cover his mouth. "Wendy-chan's your girlfriend now?"

"No!" Romeo cried, blushing. "It's not that..."

"Yeah, then what is it?" Natsu asked.

"Well I meant to tell you yesterday about this, and, err..." Romeo scratched his head awkwardly. "They've given out flyers for the annual kite-flying competition-"

"This early?" Natsu exclaimed, then checked the calendar. "Whoa, that's still like next next month, right? That's awesome! When are we starting to make our kite?"

Magnolia's Annual Kite Fest had been held in Magnolia yearly since Natsu was in primary school. The contestants were always in pairs, and Natsu and Romeo always bonded over that contest, never missing a year. Natsu often challenged Gray and Erza and Laxus (and on her more rebellious days, Mira) and oftentimes they stepped up and joined too. Gray always paired up with either Cana or Max. Erza with Bisca, Laxus with one of his bandmates. There was one time Erza and Laxus teamed up and they all swore that the pair's kite was out for blood.

However, this time Romeo was looking down nervously. "Err, that's what I wanna tell you..."

"What?" Natsu asked, blinking. "You have something for it already? That's cool-"

"I wanted to ask you to go and pair up with me yesterday, but I always got cut off, and today at lunch, I told Wendy about it and she was so excited-"

Natsu didn't need to hear anything more. He looked at Romeo, his lips drawn to a thin line. "You're going with Wendy, aren't you?"

Romeo bowed his head. "Natsu-nii, I'm so sorry, it's just that she looked so excited about it and she started talking about how she's never flown a kite before, and I just asked her right then and there-... Maybe I can tell her that I can't go-"

"Whoa, whoa!" Natsu said, confused by the boy's reaction. "Hey, what's the matter? You're going with the girl you like, shouldn't you be... I dunno, proud and happy or something?"

Romeo looked at his senior. "You're not mad?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be?"

"You're... you're fine with it?"

"It's cool." Natsu said, blinking at the boy cluelessly. "Why did you think I won't be fine with it?"

"But we've never missed a year!" Romeo cried. He honestly expected Natsu to be disappointed in some degree. "We always do it together, and-"

At that, the teen simply laughed. "It's alright, bro!" he instead reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. "Look at you, you beat me to asking a girl out to the kite fest! You're fierce, man!"

Romeo blinked.

Natsu crossed his arms across his chest. "Oh hey, I dunno who I'll be going with, but if you and Wendy come up with a lame kite, I won't be your aniki anymore! I'll disown you! You'll shame our rep! We built it for years, remember?"

"Y-Yeah..." the boy said, smiling lightly. "It's really okay? You... you're not angry at me or anything?"

"My number one disciple taking a cute girl to the kite fest?" Natsu said proudly, grinning. "Hah! Let's see Frostbite beat that!"

Romeo looked at his big brother with an awkward grin on his face. Natsu was going on about strategies and possible competitors. After a while of talking about the past year's contests and other contestants, Romeo stood up and told Natsu that he had to change and maybe do some homework for once. Natsu gave the boy quite a painful "pat" on the back before he left.

Natsu grinned to himself as he took the remote control and turned back to the television, pressing the unmute button.

He was greeted with a loud shout of "I WILL NOT FORGIVE THOSE WHO HURT MY NAKAMAAAA!"

Natsu had to do a double-take before grumbling, "Dude, calm down. I'm still having a proud-aniki moment here."

Romeo should do well, he thought - if Romeo stumbled even an inch, Natsu was grabbing someone to go compete with him in the fest to get his little brother back in order.

* * *

.

.

.

**A/N:** I'm still tentative on Wendy and Romeo. But as puppy love goes, I think they're quite a nice and cute example.

I'm still thinking if I'm going to turn that kite-fest to a chapter. But while we're on the topic of chapters, my shipping heart is squealing at what's up next.

**Coming up next:  
"Little Things"**

GRAY.  
GRAY BEING SO ROMANTIC GOD HELP MY KOKORO.


	8. Track 08: Little Things

**A/N: **This was late because both me and my beta were busy but LOOK AT THE WORD COUNT, GUYS!

Yep, this chapter is Gruvia and it's 9000+ words long. I salute the shippers. Gray and Juvia were so much fun to write.

And this chapter is very fluffy. And romantic. And it centers on Gray - it deals with his expression issues. Because let's face it, we all just want him to scoop Juvia up in his arms and give her the kiss of her life.

So here you go...

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 08: Little Things  
**..aka "Gray Likes Dolphins Now"

_"__I won't let these little things slip out of my mind  
but if I do, it's you - oh, it's you they add up to_."  
- One Direction

Cana knew that it would happen sooner or later, although she never expected it to happen so randomly.

She just started the shower when she heard Gray's call: "Cana?"

The brunette expected it to maybe be something like_ 'Will you be in there long?'_ or _'Is there still shampoo? 'Cause I'm going out and maybe we should buy a new one.'_ or even_ 'I left my clothes in there, didn't I?'_

She simply answered "What?" while she reached for the soap.

"Do you think Juvia is getting tired of me?"

Gray, working on an ice sculpture in the counter, was left with silence.

Then...

"DAMMIT GRAY, YOU MADE ME DROP THE SOAP DOWN THE DRAIN!"

* * *

After a quick dash to the convenience store across the street, Gray returned and handed the newly-bought soap to his roommate. Cana took it moodily before slamming the bathroom door to his face.

"Sorry. That was random." he said, scratching his head.

Cana sighed. "You left your pants in the convenience store."

"SHI- Hey, I didn't! I still have them on!"

Cana laughed heartily at him before running the shower again. Gray sighed and took out the half-finished ice sculpture that he hurriedly shoved in the freezer when he had to run. He started to work on it again. Ice sculpting was a hobby he picked up when he lived with his late Aunt Ur and his cousin Ultear. The hobby earned him a bunch of nicknames but he could live with that - it was cool and when he won competitions, it brought extra cash.

He was working silently when Cana, above the sounds of the shower, called, "Oi, Fullbuster!"

Gray scoffed, focused on his work. "What is it, Alberona?"

"Bastard." Cana chuckled. "Anyways, about your question..."

"Forget about it it; I was being crazy."

"Do you really love Juvia?"

Gray thought that Cana was being silly, asking that. "Of course I do!"

But he had to admit that he only gave her a straight answer because she was not in front of him. "It's just... well, she's been calling and texting and clinging less."

He didn't see Cana's smirk.

"Well, I could see where she's coming from."

Gray's hands paused from their work shortly, then immediately resumed their activity. "What do you mean?"

"You don't appreciate her enough, is what I mean. Ya know, Juvia was here a few days ago cooking dinner and who ate it? Me! And Gildarts! Don't you like her cooking? I think it's god-tier!"

Gray didn't know that Cana conveniently chose not to talk about her conversation with Juvia and the bluenette's worries. Cana had promised Juvia that she wouldn't tell Gray anything about it.

"Are you kidding, her cooking's the best!" Gray shouted back, glaring hard at his sculpture. It was going from bad to worse in his opinion. "I was just out with the guys!"

"When was your last night-out? Just the two of you?"

"It's not that easy when I'm busy with work, and when I have free time, the guys ask me out and practically just pull me with 'em..."

"Ask for a day-off, geez!"

"Hey, I talk to her at school and I text her every night-"

"How long have you been doing that?"

Gray looked at the bathroom door as if it was asking very irrelevant questions. Well, the person inside the room was being really vague... "Well, since we started dating, I've been doing it - that's what anyone would do, dammit, Cana."

"Gray, just take Juvia out and show her that the relationship is going somewhere. If you keep doing the same things, it gets boring. It'll look like you don't wanna... go forward."

"I'd try if I knew what to do."

"Well at the very least, try expressing your feelings. You're such an ice king! You should melt a little!"

Gray shrugged a little too uneasily. "I'm the listening type, not the talking type! What's got into you, preaching on me like this? You don't understand, you're not even in a relationship-"

He heard a huff. "At this point I will never have one, because Gildarts will shoot anyone who even tries to flirt."

"I thought you were going out with Hibiki."

"You thought, Gray. You thought."

"Laxus?"

"Dude. Dude, who the hell do you hear this stuff from?"

"How about Bacchus? You were drinking toge-"

"If you ever mention the name of that bastard one more time in my presence, you're going to hell. NOBODY OUTDRINKS ME! We're talking about you here! So no more of my rumored exes!"

Gray sighed in defeat because he knew that when Cana started a goddamn sermon, he'd just better listen. "My point is that what you're telling me to do is easier said than done." He heard the shower going off.

"You don't know how to ask her out? Man, tell her to jump off a cliff and she will. Just saying."

Gray heard the bathroom door opening. Without looking, he knew that Cana was then standing by the doorway in just her towel. "Stop talking about her like that."

"Gray, just invite her out. Have dinner on a nice place. Heck, eat a parfait at Mira's. Juvia will die of happiness from just that."

"Yeah, right- FUCK." He cursed, catching Cana's attention. He looked disappointedly at his failed ice sculpture. "This is the fifth time tonight."

"What are you making?" she asked. She wasn't always interested in his work but she liked to tease him when he failed.

"A rose." Gray pouted, poking lifelessly at his work. "Goddamn I hate sculpting flowers."

"Why a rose of all things- OH, IS IT FOR JUVIA?" Cana said, sounding a little more enthusiastic.

Gray huffed. "No, of course not." - Because it was really not for his girlfriend. He was doing it for kicks. An exercise, since it has been a while since he last made something. They just happened to talk about Juvia while he was sculpting.

Cana clucked her tongue. "Shit, Gray. A frozen rose. It's cold and it melts. Your love is cold and your love melts? Way to go, bro."

Gray thought that it wasn't his love that was cold nor his love that would melt. It was him. "No, look at it this way. I'm cold but she melted me."

Silence.

"Alright, that wasn't cool." he said quickly. "Totally not cool. That was hideous. Not cool. Forget I said that. IT SUCKS."

"It does." Cana said, proceeding to grab the hair drier and plug it in the socket.

"This isn't even for her!"

"Yeah, right." - her all-knowing chuckle annoyed him too much. How did she even get him to make this conversation about a girl? He was practicing his sculpting and THEN Cana turned it all on him. The wonders of his flatmate and her conversation skills.

He simply groaned, holding his head in his hands. "I didn't even intend to make any metaphors out of this! Cana, just please mind your own business?"

"Hai, hai!" Cana answered loudly above the sound of her blow-drying her hair.

The sculptor took another block of ice and started over. After a few minutes, he heard his companion call him again, "Hey, Gray?"

"What?"

"It really does suck, your metaphor."

"Shut up, it's not a metaphor! Never intended to be a fucking metaphor, arrrrrgggggh." - then after a beat, "Shut up, whatever you're going to say, I'm trying to focus."

Gray knew that Cana, for all her hard-working femme fatale act, was actually a really big bully.

"Gray-"

"Shut it."

"I was just about to say that you're more naked than me."

"..."

"...and I'm only wearing a towel."

* * *

The next day, he accepted Juvia's homemade lunch with a smile because that was the least he could do. Juvia, as usual, blushed and said that cooking for Gray-sama with love made her happy.

The previous night's so-called "heart-to-heart" with Cana made Gray come up with a conclusion. Well, he didn't really need to come up with it because his best friend said it outright:

_"You have expression issues, Gray. If you're in love then say THE word. And mean it."_

Gray never believed in "saying the word"; he thought that it was just a word but he also knew it meant so much more than people thought. Maybe that was why he never believed in it in the first place - it was because he always knew it wouldn't be enough. Saying it always meant less than actually meaning it. Gray lived by that.

Besides, everyone used that word so loosely. On that particular day, he couldn't help but note how easily people said it

"I bet he's totally in love with you." - he heard Levy marvel about the Jellal guy that they had been bugging Erza about for weeks. Gray glanced at the girls. They were all talking excitedly about the little charm that dangled from Erza's phone. It was a little red rose, its color matching Erza's hair perfectly.

He really found it hard to believe that someone had been brave enough to ask Erza out, but from what Juvia told him when he asked, the guy was a childhood friend.

'Oh well', Gray thought, looking lazily at Erza who was mumbling incoherently and blushing as the girls talked excitedly about the little present. _'If Erza's happy, we're all good. If the guy makes her cry, though, I'll make sure he survives me only just enough to be alive to take on what Natsu has in store for him.'_ She was one of his best friends and even though she kicked his ass regularly, Gray loved Erza.

From her conversation with the girls, Lucy noticed him looking, and the blonde gave him her signature bright smile. Gray smiled back because it was Lucy: one of their newest but one of the best. She talked too much and was kind of annoying at times but hell, for someone so rich, she was humble and fun and she was the only girl besides Erza who was able to make Natsu step back from a fight and that was saying something. So, taking "the word" loosely like everybody did, Gray admitted that he loved Lucy too for what little time she'd been with them so far.

"Gray, you grew up with us too! Did you know Jellal-san when we were kids?" Levy asked him when she also noticed him watching them.

Gray shrugged, indulging the girls and their chitchat. It wasn't every day that you saw them giggling over ERZA's love life of all things. "Nah, and Cana didn't know, either."

Of course Gray loved Levy too. Who wouldn't love smart and witty but immaculately kind and down-to-earth Levy McGarden?

"Jellal-san sounds like such a nice person..." Juvia sighed, looking dreamily at the little charm that dangled from Erza's phone. It was such a small thing but Gray guessed that for the girls - for Erza, specially - it was a big leap in the romance department. "Juvia is imagining Erza-san and Jellal-san as children and it's just so cute and sweet..."

Levy and Lucy sighed with Juvia while Erza blushed in a shade that challenged her hair color and new phone accessory. Juvia stared back at Gray's smug expression and the young man instantly looked away, pretending to look out the window.

Gray loved his girlfriend - he really, really did. She was this hopelessly shy, romantic and thoughtful girl who kicked his ass when they first met (goddamn, she had been fierce), and Gray would never say it out loud but she looked so cute when she blushed. And then there was her being the star of the swimming club and Gray just always tried with everything in his power to just stop his nose from bleeding whenever she rose up from the pool in her swimsuit. He wasn't the type to dote Gildarts-style or even Natsu-style, but in all ways, Gray knew that he was hopelessly smitten. He just never really let it out before.

To put "the word" loosely and to use it so easily, Gray could say that he loved these four girls and he'd make anyone pay if any of them get hurt. It was funny that it was so easy to beat jerks to a pulp because he loved Erza and Lucy and Levy and Juvia, but it was so hard to say that to their faces.

Maybe he could tell Cana - that he loved her because she was his best friend and they've gone through thick and thin - but then they'd laugh at it together because she'd simply ask if he's sick or something.

Gray was a perfectly cool friend and a decent conversation partner, but he knew, even compared to completely dense Natsu or over-the-top Elfman, he sucked at talking about feelings and... uh..._ 'Stuff.'_, he finished._ 'Feelings and stuff.'_

"Gray-sama?" his thoughts were interrupted when Juvia's gentle voice called him.

He looked up to see her standing in front of his desk. "Juvia. What is it?"

"Juvia just wants to say 'thank you' for lending Juvia Gray-sama's pencil." then the young woman offered Gray the pencil he lent her that morning when she couldn't find hers. He took it from her. "Is Gray-sama alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Why?" Gray said, trying to smile up at his girlfriend.

Juvia's brows furrowed for a while. "Um, n-nothing, Gray-sama." She paused for a beat, but as she was about to say something, someone called her.

"Juvia-chan?" They looked towards the door to see Bisca waving at the bluenette. Alzack and Cana was standing behind her. Gray knew they were all in the same class. "A moment, please?"

"It must be about the swimming club." Juvia said, then walked over to them. Gray glanced at Cana, who was looking at him curiously.

He shrugged._ 'I'm trying, okay?'_

Cana pouted._ 'Try harder!'_

He sighed._ 'Why don't you do it?'_

When the brunette rolled her eyes, Gray knew she was simply telling him to get on with it soon.

* * *

Gray did what he thought made sense - he talked to Natsu. It wasn't really sensible when he first thought about it: Natsu was as thick as his hair was pink, but thinking about the alternatives made him shiver. Cana? Too knowing, they'd end up drunk, and she had already had her turn to tell him how much he sucked. Lucy? Natsu would go with her anyway. Erza? Too busy blushing because she thought that_ 'r-r-r-relationships shouldn't be pursued at such a y-y-young age!'._ Levy for some reason was occupied with helping Gajeel out with his schoolwork. Alzack and Bisca only saw each other. Makarov would be cryptic about it. Gildarts would just ask about 'Cana-chan'. Elfman would say '_MAN!_'. And finally, talking to Mira would make the population of Magnolia matchmakers - and he will be the victim.

"So," Natsu started as he and Gray found themselves alone on the school rooftop. "How d'ya wanna go, Frosty?"

"Shut up, Firecrap. I'm not here to fight." Gray said, leaning his back against a wall and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Eh? Then what're we doing here?" Natsu asked as if Gray and him doing anything except fighting was a foreign concept.

Well, that was true.

Gray sighed then looked away, getting straight to the point. "What do you think of Juvia?"

"Wait." Natsu blinked. "We're talking?"

"Yeah. Finding it hard, Flame-brain?"

Natsu glared. "WANNA GO, ICE QUEEN?!"

"I'm gonna kick your a-... Shit. We're supposed to talk." Gray scratched his head, annoyed at his companion's fiery temper. Natsu's personality had always been kind of infectious.

Natsu hid his ever-present bottle of Hot Sauce in his pocket and huffed, slumping down onto the floor. "Okay, let's talk."

Gray, because he was ALWAYS better than Natsu, huffed too.

After a while, Natsu said, "So... Juvia?"

"Yeah."

Natsu thought about it for several moments, then he suddenly looked up at Gray with wide eyes. "Gray, dude. Juvia's your girlfriend. I swear, man, I don't like her that way."

Gray groaned. "I didn't mean it like that. Just... just answer the question!"

Natsu thought again. After thinking, he looked up at Gray and smiled his 'This one's really cool' smile. "She's like a dolphin!"

'Fucking metaphors. Why do people like them so much?' Gray inwardly sighed, remembering Cana's words the previous night. He simply looked back at Natsu and repeated what the pink-head said: "A dolphin. My girlfriend's a dolphin."

Natsu nodded like a good child determined to defend his creative writing homework. "Yeah, 'cause you know, she's smart and always happy and smiling and she swims good."

"Okay." Gray said, as if indulging a three year-old. "But Lucy is also smart, always happy and smiling. Is she a dolphin too?"

At that, Natsu chortled. "No, Luce can't swim for shit! I took her to the pool once and she drowned!"

Gray rolled his eyes.

"Why'd you ask me, anyway? If you're looking for sweet stuff to say, just ask Mira for advice. Everyone goes to her." Natsu said.

"Seeking Mira's help has consequences."

"Eh... what?"

"Nothing. How's Lucy?"

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Luigi? She's fine. Weren't you talking to 'em a while ago?"

"No. I mean how're you and Lucy?"

Natsu looked lost. Gray should have known. "I'm... fine. Lucy's fine. We're fine, me and Lucy. Thanks for asking. Wait, what the hell kinda questions are ya askin', Gray?"

"I mean, you-..." Gray started, then quickly groaned and just said, "Come on, the whole school's betting on when you'd get together. And I'm lucky I didn't put in anything on the pot because it looks like Levy's winning."

And finally, Natsu got it. "Aha! Okay, I get it, you're askin' when we're hooking up!"

"YES!"

"I don't really know." Natsu said in a tentative tone. "I mean, Luce is awesome and I love her to bits, but I really dunno."

There it was again, Gray heard. Said so easily. The Word.

That was when he realized what Natsu just said. "Wait, did you just say that you're almost there?"

"Again, I don't know!" Natsu replied again, this time with a goofy smile. "I wouldn't mind, though. It sounds cool. Lucy's awesome."

"What do you even mean you don't know?"

Natsu shrugged. "It's just like that. I think. Lucy has problems she's dealing with so she's kinda busy right now but who knows what'll happen and all that shit?"

"Are you... with her-... uh-uhhh...-"

"In love with Lucy?"

"Yeah?"

"I dunno, but I love her." Natsu shrugged. "Not 'in love' though - not yet. Or ever. Or never. Or sure. It's hard! We don't talk about this kinda stuff. We can be happy together without makin' out, ya know. Hanging out together is fun. And yeah, before you say I'm dense, I KNOW LUCE IS A GIRL. All those frilly panties give everything away."

"Panties." Gray repeated, trying to confirm what he just heard.

"She likes climbing up on the ladder stuffs in the library."

Gray shook his head and simply dismissed that as one of Natsu's and Lucy's weird antics again. "Never mind. You really don't know how you feel then?"

"Why d'you care, is it because you're planning to bet too?"

"No. You just confuse me.", then before Natsu could reply, Gray followed up a mumbled "Greatly."

Natsu, strangely enough, grinned in response. "But not knowing is fun!"

"What?" Gray thought about how exactly he just ended up the one confused.

"Look." Natsu said. "Everytime I see her, I don't know how I really feel about her or what will really happen to us or how she really feels about stuff, and it's kind of fun. I get to be excited about what's comin' next because maybe she wakes up one day and loves me different. Or maybe I'll beat her to it."

Gray looked up at the sky and took his friend's words in._ 'Shit'_, he thought._ 'Natsu grew up when I wasn't looking.'_

"Are you having problems with Juvia?" Natsu asked. His companion inwardly sighed in relief because_ 'YES, FINALLY HE GOT IT.'_

Gray shrugged. "Kinda."

"Oh, who'da thunk." Natsu chuckled, crossing his arms behind his head and smiling impishly.

"Shut up." Gray scoffed. When he turned to look back at Natsu, the guy was sniggering at him. "What?"

"Well, 'bout what I was saying about not knowing... It's different with you guys."

Gray looked at his companion. "What d'you mean?"

"Well, obviously, you know how ya feel already. Or do you? Anyways, if you're sure about it, you should just go tell her. I mean, ever since that shitty night when Lucy came crying 'cause of her dad, I... I kinda don't wanna let her out my sight. And I know it. And I told her that. And she was nice 'bout it. And we stick together so much nowadays 'cause of that, 'cause Lucy said it's really nice that I'm always with her because she never feels lonely. So if you're feeling... uh, feelings for Juvia, you oughtta tell her. She's a nice girl, she'll be nice about it too. I know the girls are weird - heck, Erza even got the cake-guy - but they listen well if you mean what 'ya say."

_'How long have I been NOT looking? Where is this idiot getting all these stuff that actually make sense?'_ Gray thought. "Oi.", he said.

Natsu looked back at him. "What?"

"Say 'love'."

"Lo-.. Is this a trick question?"

"No. Just say it."

"Love?"

"It sounds so easy." Gray sighed.

Natsu has been shrugging a lot in the course of the conversation. Gray wasn't used to it. "It's just a word, Frosty."

"The girls will kill you if they hear you saying that."

"Well, duh - hey, I know this one line Iris told Gabriel…" Natsu rubbed his chin. Gray wondered what the hell the guy was talking about now. "That! If you can't say it, then show it!"

"Who the hell are Iris and Gabriel?"

Natsu's face turned serious. "Please don't tell Lucy I read her novel. She goes all girly secretive 'bout it."

Gray groaned. "No, shit."

Hell, for all that Natsu had been saying about Lucy being weird, the pink-head had gotten even weirder in Gray's eyes.

"But I'm serious, man. If you can't say it, just show her."

"Show her what?"

"Anything but your body, 'cause that view's public property by now."

A vein popped in the raven-head's temples. "Fuck you, Flame-brain."

"HAH! Wanna go, Ice Queen?" Natsu stood up to start the fist-fight to top all fist-fights - it wasn't him and Gray if there weren't a few punches involved.

Then the door suddenly opened and Lucy shouted, "Okay, time-out!"

"Awww, man!" Natsu grumbled, looking at the blonde. "Can we take care of this - whatever it is - later, Luce?"

"No. We promised Levy we'd help her out in the library today since Jet and Droy just joined the Computer Club." Lucy said sternly. "You and Gray can 'go' at each other after."

"But Lucy, Laki's going too! Go with her, I'll catch up-"

Lucy looked at him sternly. "Natsu, Levy wouldn't ask for you, me and Laki if just me and Laki would suffice."

Gray scoffed and let go of Natsu's collar. "How'd you know we were here?"

"Really now?" Lucy raised an eyebrow, then she smirked and raised her hands, which were both clutching various articles of clothing. "With the way your clothes were scattered all over the place, I thought they were there to mark the path."

On cue, Gray realized that he was only in his boxers and he pounced on Lucy for his clothes, ignoring Natsu's loud laughter. The blonde hid the clothes behind her back. "Hey, those are mine!"

"Give me Natsu first."

"He'll never be anyone else's, I swear!"

Lucy rolled her eyes and gave the clothes back. "Here, stripper." She then went back inside the school building. Natsu followed right after her, still laughing at Gray.

Natsu and Cana had both said the same thing: Say the word, or just show her.

Gray knew that he sucked at both. Cana didn't dub him 'Ice King' because of the sculptures. Gray, since they were little children, had really been less expressive than his friends.

For the nine months that he had dated Juvia, he had hugged her, held her hand, or bought her stuff sometimes. But - this was the big BUT here - he had never kissed her. Never, not even on the cheek or the forehead, or the hand.

Gray hated himself for not being good at saying AND showing.

* * *

After school, Gray had still not come up with anything good to make up to Juvia.

His best plan was to make things up as they went - it wasn't really that much of a plan, but he decided to just go with it.

The 'impromptu-idea' method had helped him win ice sculpting competitions a number of times in the past._ 'Yeah.'_ Gray decided. _'What happens, happens.'_

For that to really work though, he needed to make sure of one thing - that he could make time to spend with Juvia alone.

He dropped by the Student Council Office first to find Lucy, and was politely instructed to look for the blonde in the FairyGaku track field.

He found Lucy there, standing on one side of the large field that the school used for sports events. The blonde was still in her school uniform, doing cheerleading moves as she listened to the music from her mp3 player. She paused to change her routine from time to time. Gray didn't want to bother her too much so he sat on the top-row bleachers and waited for another five minutes until the blonde took out her player, pressed a button, and then sat on the nearest bleacher to catch her breath. Lucy had her back turned to him so she didn't notice when Gray silently stepped over the bleachers to come up behind her.

She gasped lightly when he covered her eyes.

He didn't say 'Guess who?' - that would have given it away.

"Alright, who's this?" Lucy said.

Gray frowned, withdrawing his hand and then stepping over the bleacher to sit beside her. "I thought you'd figure it was Natsu."

Lucy smiled, laughing lightly. "Sorry, Gray, but by now I know the exact temperature of that guy's hands and yours really don't match. They're cold."

"You two are insane." Gray remarked, shaking his head in resignation. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, the cheer squad asked me if I could help with this year's regionals routine." Lucy shrugged. "I figured it wouldn't hurt lending them a hand."

Gray nodded. In their second year, Lucy gained popularity mainly because she was head of the cheerleading club. She was a star then, but she didn't come back the following year. "Why'd you quit, anyway?"

"I'm a senior. I wanted to study." Lucy answered dutifully.

"Really?" he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Lucy rolled her eyes. "Dad wanted me to quit it and focus on getting to university."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm over it." Lucy smiled, then looked at him. "Why're you here, by the way? Anything I can do for you?"

"Hey, do I really just approach you whenever I need something from you?"

Lucy blinked at him, then said, with a straight face - "Yeah."

Gray scratched his head. "Ah. Okay. Sorry. Are you mad?"

"Nope." the blonde laughed, used to her companion's antics. "Just shoot. If this is really important, you can count on me."

Gray breathed deeply before saying, "It's for Juvia."

At that, Lucy automatically replied: "I'm in."

* * *

The next day, he waited by the school gates until Juvia got off from swimming practice. The first to notice him was Bisca, who nudged Juvia and quickly pointed towards the gates. Gray gave a small grin and all the other swim club girls squealed and started pushing their star swimmer towards her boyfriend. They all gave excuses about going somewhere else to leave the couple alone.

Juvia blushed when Gray greeted her by asking how training was.

"Training was... okay." Juvia said tentatively, blinking when Gray took her bag for her and slung both their bags over his shoulder. "D-Does Gray-sama need anything from Juvia? Gray-sama should have just sent a text. It must be troublesome waiting for the training to end..."

"No, it's fine." Gray answered, looking down at the ground. "I... uh, really wanted to wait for you." With that, he offered his hand and when she accepted it, he pulled her with him to walk down the street.

Juvia smiled a little at the rare sweet gesture, then furrowed her brows and asked, "Gray-sama has a part-time job at the bakery today, right?"

"Eh, it's my day-off." Gray quickly said.

"Yajima-san found a replacement for Fridays? Isn't he always shorthanded, that's why Gray-sama is the permanent Friday shift?"

Gray answered with a simple, "Natsu's filling in today. Said he's bored."

"Natsu-san did?"

"Yeah. I told Yajima-san I could use a break." Gray conveniently didn't mention the fact that he asked Lucy to get Natsu to do it.

That was the way things worked in their circle of friends. You had to know who to ask who to ask who.

"That's really nice of them, Gray-sama."

"Alright," Gray sighed. "We've talked about this a million times: drop the -sama."

"But Juvia can't get used to it!"

Gray rolled his eyes. "Gray-sama is waiting."

"Juvia is sorry..."

Great. He had made his girl upset. He dropped her hand and instead draped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. "Gray-sama is willing to wait a little longer, I guess."

Juvia wrapped her arms around his torso and snuggled against his shoulder. "Juvia loves Gray-sama so much!" Gray laughed, then ruffled her still wet hair and led the way again. Juvia smiled at him and didn't withdraw her arms as they walked. They were the picture of a happy couple. Normally Gray would be shy, fidgety and stiff, but he had gotten used to it. "Where are are Juvia and Gray-sama going?"

"Ah, that." he swallowed. He forgot that he had no plans. "Where d'you wanna go?"

"Juvia doesn't feel like staying out... Juvia is kinda tired from the training, but if Gray-sama wants to go somewhere-"

"Your flat, then." Gray answered quickly. "Let's just... Lemme think." - he quickly thought of something they could do together, just the two of them, in her little flat (he prayed that Gajeel was staying out late). Gray thought that they could just watch a movie but seeing as Juvia was already tired...

"Gray-sama?"

"...uh, let's do homework together?"

"Gray-sama wants to do homework together?"

"Yeah, and eat dinner. Don't wanna tire you out just because I wanted to... um... spend some alone time?"

"Gray-s-s-sama wants... a-a-alone time?" Juvia stuttered, looking up at her boyfriend and blushing several shades of red.

Gray looked away. "Er, yeah? Don't... Don't you want to?" - damn, he really wasn't any good at it.

"Juvia would love to!"

"Is Gajeel in, though?"

"Juvia will kick Gajeel out the house if Gray-sama wants her to!"

"Okay, no need to be mean," he chuckled. "Dinner and homework?"

"Hai!"

Gray inwardly pat himself on the back. The no-plan thing was working out fine so far.

* * *

When they reached Juvia's flat, they found Gajeel putting his black leather boots on. "Tadaima, Gajeel-kun!" Juvia said and the Iron Dragon looked up.

"Oi, Juvi. Frosty." Gajeel grunted out roughly as he stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Gajeel." Gray nodded simply. He wasn't close to the guy yet, but they were definitely nakama at that point in time. The guy was a big help beating up some guys in the last brawl he and Elfman and Natsu got in.

"Gajeel-kun, are you going out?" Juvia asked, taking off her shoes to leave them in the shoe rack. Gray did the same.

"Yeah. Study group."

"Study group?" Juvia blinked.

"Shortcake-.. err, Levy."

"With Levy, Jet and Droy?" Gray asked, disbelieving. Levy he had imagined inviting the guy over because Levy was kind like that, but it was a known fact that Jet and Droy still hated Gajeel to the bone.

"No, just Levy. And... this guy Warren and some girl called Biscuit-something. "

"Bisca." Gray and Juvia corrected at the same time.

"Yeah. That. We have a project and shorty assigned herself as tutor because the swimming girl asked her to." Gajeel grumbled.

"Good, Gajeel-kun is making friends in his class!" Juvia said delightedly and reached up a hand to pat her roommate's head. She barely reached his shoulder.

Gajeel quickly waved her off to save his pride. "I guess so. See ya guys around. I'm taking Lily."

Juvia beamed at him as he grabbed the black cat and settled the feline on his free shoulder. "Take care! You too, Lily!"

Gajeel simply walked past them and then looked at Gray. "Frosty, do anything fishy to this girl and you'll wish you were never born." As if on cue, Lily meowed.

Gray rolled his eyes. "Yeah, man. I get it. Overprotective best friend and pet cat syndrome."

They watched Gajeel leave before they walked in to put down their bags on the couch. Juvia quickly put on her apron and rummaged through the cupboards to start cooking dinner. Gray, realizing what his girlfriend was doing, quickly followed her and asked if he could help in any way.

"No, Gray-sama should just sit down and rest. Juvia will take care of the dinner!"

Gray frowned. "No way, I wanna do it too. I can cook decent. Uh. I can fry stuff."

"Juvia can handle all of this herself. Juvia wants to cook something special for Gray-sama. It's rare for Gray-sama to want time alone with Juvia." Juvia gave him a smile that promptly made his heart melt. However, it also made his good-boyfriend-reassurance drop.

_'IT'S RARE, SHE SAID.'_ Gray thought._ 'RARE.'_

So no, Gray was not having that - he wanted to spend time with her so they could talk or do some other stuff. She was going to let him do stuff, whether she liked it or not - so Gray huffed and all but stomped his feet stubbornly. "I want to do something special for you too."

It's funny, Gray thought, that he always found it so easy to talk to Juvia when she was already with him. Just a while ago, he was thinking hard of what to say and how to say it, but right then he was blurting out statements straight from his head. He simply decided that he was the 'in-the-moment' kind of guy. He sucked at planning, but he was good when you left him in the situation.

Juvia looked at him with a blush on her cheeks. "G-Gray-sama..."

"Let me chop the vegetables." he suggested. "I can do at least that."

"U-Ummm... of course."

Gray stepped forward and grabbed a spare apron. It was light blue with little snowflakes, probably one of Juvia's numerous spares. She really loved cooking. He tried to properly absorb her instructions as she handed him a chopping board, a knife, and some vegetables.

He sucked at cooking. He and Cana had been living on the simplest meals if either of them were to cook. The most complicated they could get was an expensive take-out to treat themselves every now and then. Besides Juvia, Natsu was the cook in their circle of friends. It came in the family.

Nonetheless, Gray could surely manage to chop some vegetables if his girlfriend's happiness depended on it. "Is this okay?" He asked as he finished chopping half of a cabbage.

"Thinner, maybe?" Juvia suggested, and then she turned to ready the stove and grab a casserole. Gray quickly focused on chopping thinner strips. "Um, Gray-sama, that's a little too thin."

"Eh?" Gray complained, looking at her, then trying to salvage the vegetables by chopping them just a bit thicker... "How the hell do you manage to do this? You're so perfect." - he didn't even realize what he was saying, and Juvia smiled shyly.

"Here, let Juvia show you." the bluenette instead took the knife from Gray's hands and finished the job herself. Her companion watched closely, engrossed on her dainty hands doing the work. "This thin will be okay."

_'If you can't say it, show it.'_ Gray nodded. _'You'll understand better. Hah. Who'd have thought that moron Natsu would be right...'_

"Will Gray-sama please hand Juvia the potato?" then Juvia caught him staring at her. She waved a hand in front of his face. "Gray-sama?"

Gray didn't note the fact that he was indeed openly staring. "Say, Juvia..." he started. "Since I suck and you're so good, will it be fine if I just... like, just hug you while you cook?"

Juvia blinked. "H-Hug?"

"Yeah." Gray nodded, looking away, poking at the cabbage strips at the chopping board. "'Cause, um, Cana was saying the other day how you cooked for us but I missed it, and I thought, hell, uh, since we haven't been spending time together since the, um, monthsary lunch last month... I thought, uh, if I missed your cooking then I missed you more."

Juvia stopped chopping and looked at him with a sincere, appreciative smile. Gray didn't expect that, too. He honestly expected her to drop her knife and then promptly faint. "Gray-sama, that's sweet."

Gray continued to look at the suddenly interesting vegetables. "I guess so."

_'Yes, Gray. Keep it up. Don't stammer. You're the cool one here. Erza stammers. Juvia stammers. But you don't stammer.',_ and he kept repeating those statements again and again in his head.

"Gray-sama wants to hug Juvia?"

"Because I don't know what else to do and I'll look like an idiot if I just stare at you while you cook."

"Hug Juvia all you want." the swimmer said with a bigger smile this time. Gray grinned at her and then stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her torso and tucking his head on her shoulder. After a few moments, Juvia grabbed the almost-forgotten potato and started chopping again.

Gray watched closely as she worked on the vegetables, then the meat. He savored her warm body pressed against his (it was a miracle, he still had his clothes on) and his cheeks against her slightly wet hair (he liked her hair most when she wore it down after swimming club). As she worked, Juvia hummed a tune he didn't know so he simply listened.

After a while, he said, "If you tell Cana I'm being cuddly and snuggly and shit, I'll get mad."

Juvia giggled.

"She'll never let me live this down."

"What about Gajeel-kun? Or Lucy-san or Levy-san?"

"You can tell them, I guess. But then we'll have to kill them after."

"Gray-sama, doesn't want anyone to know?"

At that, Gray paused.

Juvia was finishing up her preparations and the water in the casserole was almost boiling...

He sighed. "Scratch that, feel free to shout it via the school's P.A. I'll survive."

After a few minutes of silence, Gray asked, "So how was your day?" because he ran out of questions.

Juvia talked until dinner was served.

Gray knew that he wasn't as good with telling and showing as he was with watching and listening, but he was working on it and he considered that day an improvement so far.

Before they dated, he talked to Juvia like he did any other friend of his. She was a nice girl when she wasn't trying to kill people. She was smart and interesting and pretty... When they hung out with their friends, for some reason she turned to him for support and Gray always raised an eyebrow but helped her out anyway... like that one time she didn't know how to play the crane game, or that one time she didn't know how to eat a hotdog sandwich. He even found her charming and funny at times. He thought that she was a girl that boys would like to dream about.

When they began dating, Gray became more silent. It wasn't that he found it harder to talk to her when they got together - Gray was finally admitting that it was because he was just more interested in watching and listening to her.

Yep, Gray Fullbuster admitted that he was fascinated with Juvia Lockser. So in their first months, he watched her dry her hair after swim club, do her math problems, eat her chocolate cake and drink her favorite Earl Grey tea. He listened to her talk about Gajeel and Lily, about that cruel life with the Phantom Lord gang, about her talking to Principal Makarov, about her growing friendship with Lucy, Erza and the other girls... About her cooking him lunch and making him a knitted scarf for the coming winter... He didn't think he should say or do anything - she was full of life and she was sharing everything. He found it difficult to find something as interesting as the things she had been telling him.

He watched and listened because he was fascinated. He was fascinated because he was curious. He was curious because, as he watched and listened, he wondered: _how the hell did this pretty young woman end up in love with such a jerk?_ He wasn't expressive, he sucked at cooking and being a doting boyfriend, he isn't the least bit romantic and sometimes he was utterly insensitive... whilst she was silent and thoughtful and beautiful and dreamy-...

It hit him then. At that moment, Gray realized what the problem had been.

_'How did it take so long for me to realize?'_ he asked himself in his thoughts.

Because right then, he knew: He was simply too busy falling that he didn't notice that she was there waiting for him to land beside her.

At that moment, watching his girlfriend cook their dinner and listening to her talking about her day cheerfully, Gray finally understood what Natsu told him. _'...maybe she wakes up one day and loves me different. Or maybe I'll beat her to it.'_

Gray realized that Juvia had long woken up one day and loved him different, but he was now catching up.

* * *

It rained just right after dinner. Juvia pulled the drapes open to look out the window and frowned. She looked at the teru teru bozu doll hanging from the window frame.

Gray looked out, too. It was raining when they first met.

"Teru-kun didn't work." she said, sitting on the windowsill. The doll stared back at her with its eternally smiling face. Gray watched as Juvia looked down at the crafts basket tucked in the windowsill. It was filled with threads and cloth and half-finished teru teru bozu dolls. Juvia always kept her cloths and sewing materials on the basket by the windowsill - she liked making her handicrafts while looking out the window.

"Crap, I have no umbrella." Gray stood by the window and watched the rain too.

"Gray-sama may borrow Juvia's."

"May I borrow Gajeel's instead? Your umbrella is poofy and pink with hearts. No offense."

Juvia shrugged innocently. "But Gajeel-kun brought his umbrella with him."

"Crap." He then looked down at the crafts basket. He lifted up an unfinished doll. "Let's make more of these guys to make the freakin' rain stop. Can't go home if it pours so much and I still have a shift at The Blue Pegasus tomorrow."

He watched Juvia some more because for the next few hours they ignored the homework and made seven more teru teru bozu dolls. Gray might suck at cooking, but he had a hand in art - he was a sculptor, after all. After short instructions from Juvia, he was also making dolls. Gray drew faces on them. Juvia laughed at his descriptions and she loved the sheer number of Teru-kun's new friends by the window. He named them all:

"The one hangin' is called Teru-kun?"

"Yes. Teru-kun is Juvia's first friend."

Gray nodded, then lifted up a doll he had just made. Its face was smirking and it had glasses. "Well, this is Erza." He recalled the first girl friend Juvia made. Erza, ever-responsible class rep, told the bluenette on her first day in FairyGaku that if anyone tried to bully her for being from Phantom, Erza would kick their asses.

"Aw... Erza-san is cute, Gray-sama..." Juvia cooed, taking the doll he offered.

Gray then took another one. "And this one's Lucy." - the one smiling very cheerfully, with stars in its eyes. Lucy was the one who first approached Juvia at lunchtime, commenting on how well-done the bluenette's bento was. Lucy was also the first one to find out about Juvia's affection for Gray.

"...And this idiot is Natsu." - the grinning teru-teru bozu, because when Lucy ate her lunch with Juvia, Natsu had been in the package. Natsu was nice and he promptly said that Juvia cooked better than Lucy after he took some of the bluenette's food. 'Well', Gray thought, 'Everyone cooks better than Lucy.'

Juvia accepted the three dolls with a smile on her face. "Who is that one?"

"Levy." was the one with the headband and the small pixie smile. Besides Natsu, Levy would be in your circle once you became friends with Lucy. Levy was the one who came up with the plan to get Juvia to confess and have Gray there as well.

"And this one's Gajeel." - the doll with a sharp glare and piercings. Juvia squealed and she practically grabbed the little thing from the young man across her. Gray remembered their first date: Gajeel was there waiting with Juvia at the meeting place. He took Gray by the collar and threatened to kill the slighter young man if Gray ever dared to make Juvia cry.

"And Cana." - the one with the drunken blush and the drool. The first time Gray took Juvia to his flat with Cana, the drunk welcomed the swimmer with a huge bear hug and then pulled Juvia to the kitchen so they could work on cooking something. Cana talked about Gray's whole childhood and all his likes, dislikes, favorites and preferences (from how he pressed the toothpaste tube to the normal duration of his showers). Gray wanted to die when Cana took out the primary school yearbook, but at least it wasn't the baby pictures (Although one night he just found them looking at the baby pictures as well).

"And this one's me." - the last one with a cross necklace drawn on its neck was Gray. Gray didn't have to elaborate on that. Juvia simply 'awww'-ed again. Gray was being really sweet and she didn't really know why but she loved him nonetheless.

"We have eight. They're so wonderful and they're everyone Juvia loves." she marveled at the dolls in her arms.

Gray simply looked at her with a small smile on his face. He watched and listened some more as Juvia started talking about how to hang them all up.

Juvia looked at him then. "Gray-sama, eight dolls. Gray-sama and Juvia been together for nine months already. Maybe Juvia should make another one?"

Gray thought about it first - the numbers were good coincidence. Looking at Juvia who was sitting happily and excitedly, holding the dolls they made, an idea suddenly hit him. He grinned lightly and said, "Fine. I'll make that last one for you."

"Really?"

"Really. Watch me work. I'll make you proud."

Juvia laughed in delight at his silliness and watched him work. At first she raised an eyebrow while he cut a blue piece of cloth, but he told her to "just wait and see!" and she was quick to trust him.

A few minutes later, dangling from a string he held in his hand, was a little slightly hurriedly-made plush. "Done."

"Gray-sama, it's cute." Juvia smiled, looking at the figure. "A dolphin?"

"This one is you."

"Juvia's a dolphin?"

Gray couldn't believe that he actually got something out of that talk with Natsu. "Yeah, because you're smart, sweet, always smiling and always happy."

Juvia smiled shyly at the young man in front of her.

Then Gray realized he almost forgot the most important part: "Oh, and you're good at swimming."

That part made her laugh and she leaned forward to hug Gray tight, telling him, for the millionth time, that she loved Gray-sama with all her heart.

Gray said "Yeah." - because he wasn't really used to saying "the word" yet - but to make up for it, he hugged her back anyway. "Let's hang this dolphin up."

As they were hanging the new dolls on the window, the rain had started to stop, until it was just a mere drizzle.

"The dolls are effective..." Juvia remarked, blinking.

Gray looked at their handicrafts one more time and gave a noncommittal grunt. "Well, the rain must've seen Erza."

"Gray-sama, that's mean..."

"What? Erza IS scary."

Juvia simply smiled and then sat down in the windowsill, hugging her knees to her chest. Gray sat across her and together they sat by the windowsill, watching the drizzle outside, socked feet touching.

As Juvia leaned her head against the cold glass of the window, Gray looked at her. "Juvia," he called.

"Yes, Gray-sama?" the young woman said.

"If-..." Gray started, but he blanked out one word in. He tried again. "If... if you feel like... there's..."

Juvia looked at him. "...There's?"

Gray sighed, then looked down. "Um, nevermind."

"Juvia will always listen to Gray-sama." the bluenette said, making Gray look up at her. "It's not often that Gray-sama has something he finds hard to say..."

'No, you're wrong.' Gray thought. 'Every moment there's something I'm finding hard to say and I've never really succeeded.'

"Look." Gray breathed heavily, then reached out to put a hand on top of the bluenette's head. Kind of an awkward pat, but then he made up by brushing a stray strand of hair away from her face to tuck it behind her ear. "I really suck at some stuff, okay? Maybe you're getting tired of me being such a jerk in this relationship and yeah, I'm guilty about not showing you how important you really are to me." - Gray thought that his construction sucked too, and the sentences were all jumbled. He thought that he should have rearranged them in his head first. "And... I just want to apologize because maybe I'm disappointing you."

"Gray-sama." Juvia said, looking at him with wide eyes. "No. Juvia is not disappointed with Gray-sama."

"Well, now, maybe you're not. But I'm slow and I suck at this, so you oughtta be disappointed real soon." Gray said, sighing.

"But Gray-sama, the way Juvia sees it, the more someone expects, the more someone gets disappointed... and Juvia is not expecting all those great, overly-romantic, flowery things anymore from Gray-sama anymore." the bluenette said, smiling earnestly at her companion. "Well, it was true, just a month ago Juvia was thinking that Gray-sama was getting tired of Juvia because Juvia felt underappreciated."

"What? Getting tired of-..." Gray said, blinking - that was the first time he heard of that. "I'm really sorry if you felt-"

"But then Gray-sama showed Juvia that he really does care for Juvia after all." she said, blushing slightly. "So... Gray-sama doesn't have to try so hard to... to force himself to... to say things and do things... because Juvia wants Gray-sama to do what he wants. Juvia has stopped expecting much and Juvia thought that it was all better that way. Like... like today, because Juvia didn't really expect anything, it made Gray-sama's time with Juvia all the more special. The... the walk home together, Gray-sama wanting to help Juvia cook, Gray-sama listening to Juvia, Gray-sama making teru-teru-bozu dolls with Juvia... Juvia wants to thank Gray-sama for doing special things out of the blue."

Gray heard Natsu's words echoing in his head again: '...I don't know how I really feel about her or what will really happen to us or how she really feels about stuff, and it's kind of fun. I get to be excited about what's comin' next...'

And to top it all off, Gray's only reaction was a dumbfounded "Oh."

"So Gray-sama doesn't really have to rush, or say anything, or do anything... Because Gray-sama has proven himself many times. Even when Juvia thought there's nothing more left to prove."

Gray had always seen his friends express love too easily and it baffled him on how they made it look easy - but then he looked at Juvia and it baffled him more on how she actually made it easy for him.

He might still be falling, Gray thought, but as he looked down, his fear of landing vanished. He simply looked back at the young woman in front of him who had been so very very patient and he took her hand.

The young man gave an appreciative smile before leaning forward and cupping her chin. Maybe... just maybe he could prove something more, not for himself this time, but for her.

"May I?" - he asked first.

He didn't know that for Juvia, that question was unnecessary but it told her how much he really valued her. The young woman blushingly nodded and closed her eyes.

_'Alright, Gray. Step up because you've been wanting to do this for God only knows how long...-'_

And then the front door opened and a rough voice said, "Tadaima-"

They both jumped in surprise and looked at Gajeel and Lily, who were standing frozen by the doorway.

The guy stared at them for a second and then he quickly stepped back, grabbing his cat and then slamming the door. "Holy shit. Carry on! I'll go home tomorrow morning!"

The couple slowly turned to look at each other, both blushing bright red. Then Juvia laughed. Gray looked at her and then laughed with her, simply stealing a kiss on the young woman's forehead. Juvia smiled shyly when he sat back across her again, blushing and looking down.

It wasn't much, really. It wasn't even what Gray planned - but he didn't have a plan anyway. They got very rudely interrupted, but Gray, at that moment, would never trade the hours they spent together for anything else.

After a few moments, Gray said, "We should just call him back."

"Juvia agrees." the young woman replied, nodding. Gray stood up first and offered his hand. She took it and they hurried towards the porch to call out to Gajeel, who was pacing by the sidewalk. They shouted for him to get back inside and it took them quite a while to convince the young man to finally do so.

* * *

The next day, Gajeel shoved two movie passes towards his flatmate's face. "Really didn't mean to interrupt, I mean, you shoulda just locked the godforsaken door. Now I'm feeling guilty and it's your fault that I feel like it's my fault. Just fucking accept it, goddammit. And don't tell Frosty that I gave 'em to 'ya, just tell 'im you picked it up from the streets somewhere, or I'll never hear the end of it! If you tell 'im, I'll eat your favorite frying pan, I swear to Lily's kiwi salad."

* * *

.

.

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**A/N: **ASDGHAJKFJADHSALD I'LL READ THIS CHAPTER WHENEVER I'M SAD OKAY? I'LL READ IT. ALL OF IT.

NEXT CHAPTER IS JERZA. BRB NEXT WEEK CURRENTLY TOO BUSY MAKING SENSE OF HOW DID I WRITE THAT.

**Coming up next:  
"Jellal The Brave"**

Let's say Jellal will jump down the rabbit hole that is Erza's crazy life.


	9. Track 09: It's Time

**A/N: **This one is very late and I have to apologize for that. Real life got in the way. :P

So here's a chapter about Jellal! Well, actually, it's a chapter about Jellal thinking about Erza, so basically it's the expanded Erza chapter. It's Jellal dealing with Erza dealing with Jellal so... yep.

There are more characters. And general love love love love.

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 09: It's Time  
**..aka "Jellal The Brave"

_"I get a little bit bigger but then I'll admit I'm just the same as I was.  
Now don't you understand? I'm never changing who I am."_  
- Imagine Dragons

On their first school day in Magnolia, when Jellal came home with a little smile on his face and told his siblings that he dropped by FairyGaku to see his childhood friend, Mystogan and Wendy quickly teased him that "Oh, Jellal-nii only came back to Magnolia for Erza!"

Jellal fervently denied that. He came back to Magnolia because he got admitted to Sorciere High even in his last year in high school. He was intent on going to college at Fiore University and his chances would get better the more prestigious his high school was. Sorciere was known for its scholars.

It just so happened that Sorciere was in Magnolia. FairyGaku was in Magnolia, as well - and with that, Erza.

It wasn't that he used to tell Mysto and Wendy about Erza so much when he was a kid that "Erza the girl with the red hair" stuck to his siblings' minds as his first love and therefore the love of his life - no, it was definitely not that.

Maybe he just used to tell Mysto and Wendy about Erza so much when he was a kid that-

Okay, yeah. Jellal admitted that he was a little too puppy-lovey about Erza when he was a kid and they first left Magnolia, but he had grown and now he was a young man... And he knew that Erza may have found someone else and there were many other girls in the world-

Not that his priority was girls. He was far too busy with studying and getting into college.

Too busy, so he was walking towards the bakery after school that one Friday afternoon to buy some strawberry cake.

"Come on, Jelly! When are we going to meet the lucky girl?"

"You've been buying cake! Every week!"

Jellal groaned. He was busy studying and buying cake for Erza - and his new friends were being so nice that ever since Mysto mentioned a girl, Ultear and Meredy were intent on following Jellal to buy cake and see "Jelly's FairyGaku Girlfriend".

His two new friends knew three things: he always brought cake, "the girl" was from Fairy High, and he and "the girl" had been childhood sweethearts.

Honestly, Jellal didn't even know how he became their friend. One minute he was the new boy in Sorciere High who, even though he was a senior, got bullied because of the rare mark on his face. The next minute, a beautiful girl with long dark hair had introduced herself as the Student Council President and had threatened the bullies with expulsion.

Jellal silently asked if she was a student or if she was the principal, but she just pulled him with her into the Student Council office and appointed him Student Council Treasurer. A cheerful pink-haired girl named Meredy was the Secretary. Another raven-head called Kagura was the Vice President and for reasons beyond him, she seemed intent to kill him, so even though Meredy and Ultear were weird, at least he could use them as human shields when Kagura finally decided to whip up a katana from somewhere and slice him into tiny shreds.

Ultear and Meredy were kind people, but DAMN were they sadists and when they met Mysto, they asked the twin to "spill some nice beans about your other half! What was he like as a kid?"

Sometimes Jellal hated his twin for being so oblivious as to spill some sensitive beans at the rare times Jellal had friends over.

Or maybe Mystogan was doing it on purpose.

For the past month, Jellal had managed to sneak away from both girls, but this time, they caught him.

Meredy clung to his sleeve and Ultear had an arm draped on his shoulders as he walked towards the bakery. Jellal would not back down, though. He was getting that cake even if he had to walk with both girls holding on to his feet.

"I'm not telling you because you'll tease me and FOR THE LAST TIME, PLEASE CALL ME BY MY PROPER NAME."

He stepped inside the little bakery with both girls still bugging him for information (Really, why the hell did he hang out with them at school? They were smart and competitive but when it came to juicy gossip, they were very very persistent.) - He expected the quiet but pleasant raven-head who seemed to be a permanent fix at Yajima-san's during Friday after school- Gray, as the name tag always said- but this time Jellal found a pink-haired grinning young man munching on one of the yummy cupcakes he was supposed to be selling, and a blonde girl doing homework on the counter.

Lucy looked up and greeted the three cheerfully: "Welcome to Yajima Pastries, Cakes and Sweets! Jellal-kun, how nice to see you here!" - smart smart Lucy, she had already figured out exactly what the young man was in the place for.

Natsu looked up and blinked, still chewing on a cupcake. He simply watched contentedly, very happy with his snack.

"Natsu-san." Jellal greeted him. Natsu gave a peace sign but was enjoying the cupcake too much to give a damn. Jellal then turned to the blonde by the counter. "Lucy-san." he smiled. He had only met her a couple of times whenever he visited Erza and Lucy happened to be around, and that one time they had dinner with the Dragneels, but Lucy had a very friendly demeanor that he found it easy, evenwith his introverted personality, to approach her. "I didn't know you worked here."

"Nah, it's a one-time thing! A favor for a friend." Lucy said.

On either side of him, Jellal heard whispers:

_"Ultear, look at her uniform, she's from Fairy!"_

_"Could she be the girl?"_

_"Let's ask her!"_

Jellal quickly tried to stop them "HEY-", but the girls already let go of him and were running towards the counter. Jellal just sighed and let them be. Erza had mentioned that Lucy was one of Fairy's brightest students and one of her closest friends so he inwardly trusted the blonde not to give anything too important away.

"Oi, tattoo-face! You buying anything?" Natsu said, finally putting down his cupcake.

Jellal ignored the nickname and simply said, "A strawberry cheesecake, please. Solo size, for take-out."

In the background, Jellal heard his peaceful life slowly crumbling because of the questions the girls were asking the shop's temporary cashier.

"Hi, we're Jellal's classmates! How do you know Jelly? Is he your boyfriend?"

"Uh, no! He's-"

"Are you the one he buys the cakes for?"

"-no, he's just a friend of a friend! I-"

"You study in Fairy High, what class?"

"-I just know him because he's one of my best friends' old friends!" - _'Accurate!'_ Jellal thought. Lucy had just earned a hundred respect points from him.

But then there was a chorus of "What's your best friend's name?!"

Lucy simply laughed good-naturedly. "I'm not sure he wants you two to know..." - By then it was settled. Jellal would trust Lucy with his life.

Jellal for a while felt safe.

That is, until Natsu, intent on being a responsible employee for that one day, crouched down to look at the cakes on display to scrutinize them. The pink-head then looked up at Jellal. "Oh hey, you're the twin from Sorciere, so you're Erza's cake guy! You really do give Erza cake every week, huh? I thought the girls were just kiddin'-"

Jellal and Lucy both watched in horror as Meredy and Ultear looked at Natsu and then hurried towards him. Both girls leaned on the display and started peppering him with questions.

"SALAMANDER!" Ultear started by shouting the pink-head's nickname. "Do you remember me?"

Natsu looked at the raven-head for five seconds and then said, "Yeah! You're Gray's cousin. Your name is... err, Gray's cousin."

"Ultear. My name is Ultear." the young woman sighed, then simply said, "We have an important question-"

"Who is this person that Jelly's buying cakes for?" Meredy asked, straight to the point.

"Erza?" Natsu blinked stupidly. "Why, are you coming back for her 'cause she kicked your ass? Don't try. I'd help her if she needed it but she kicks my ass too."

Meredy smiled charmingly. "No, there won't be any kicking! What's she like? Is she pretty? Does Jelly have a chance?"

"Chance at what?" Natsu asked, still being as dense as ever.

Lucy practically saw_ 'this-is-a-trainwreck'_ in Jellal's expression and because she loved her friend Erza, she decided to save this potential boyfriend. The blonde called out a high and sugary "Natsu?" that made the pink-haired guy look at her in alarm. He knew that tone. Natsu practically froze as Lucy smiled at him in fake sweetness. "Start wrapping the cake?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Whipped." Ultear mumbled under her breath. "Hey, Salamander!" the raven-head stood on tiptoe to lean against the display and call out to the part-timer. "I'll give you a dirty secret of Gray's so tell me! Who's this girl Jelly's bringing cake to?!"

Natsu whirled around and answered automatically with the straightest face Lucy had ever seen, "Tattoo-face the Brave is gonna marry Erza Scarlet."

He was about to ask for Gray's secret but Lucy had grabbed him by the collar and strangled him, while the other two ladies turned viciously to Jellal.

"YOUR ERZA IS FAIRY HIGH'S TITANIA?!" - Meredy and Ultear both turned to Jellal, aghast, making the poor young man take a step back.

"Marry her?! You're gonna marry her?!" Meredy followed up, clinging to his sleeve again.

Ultear then took him by the collar and asked, "She's your fiancée?!"

Jellal inwardly blamed Erza for being so famous.

Natsu turned to Lucy to whisper, "What's up with these chicks, I thought he and Erza-"

"This is your fault, this is your fault, this is your fauuuuult~" Lucy mumbled, shaking her best friend back and forth.

"But she was going to tell me Gray's secret..." Natsu whined.

The blonde withdrew from him and sighed, rubbing her temples. "Just wrap up the cake. I'll do some damage control."

"Yeah, whatever. He's still a brave guy, though." Natsu said, glancing at their arguing customers for a while before crouching down to take the strawberry cake from the display.

Just then, Yajima-san came out from the back room, yawning. He had just woken up from his afternoon nap. "Natsu-kun? Why is it so noisy?"

"Lucy's taking care of it, Yaji-jii. No need to worry." Natsu answered simply, focusing on how to wrap the bow on the cake box. The old man sighed - really, even if he always found Gray already naked, only wearing the shop's uniform apron, the raven-head was still his best employee. He knew that Natsu and this new girl Lucy were good kids, but the two of them combined were still no match for Gray's expertise in his shop. Yajima-san looked on as Lucy caught the two girls' attentions.

"Meredy-san, Ultear-san, let's refrain from causing a ruckus in the shop, please!"

Meredy kept on bugging Jellal but Ultear turned towards the blonde. "In speaking of Erza Scarlet... Lucy... I've heard a Lucy before-..." Ultear thought hard, then looked at the temporary part-timer. "Lucy Heartfilia! That's why you look so familiar! Head cheerleader of FairyGaku and heiress of the Heartfilia Konzern-... Yes, and you've left quite a trail of broken hearts from Sorciere!"

"Excuse me?" Lucy blinked, trying to understand what the young woman was saying.

"She leaves a trail of broken hearts everywhere because she's so pretty. Don't take it personally." Natsu interrupted shortly, then turned back to his work just as quickly. He was busy rummaging for stuff in the counter. "WHERE THE HELL DO YOU PUT THE SCISSORS, YAJI-JII?!"

Lucy looked at Natsu but quickly shook her head and turned back to Ultear. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've dumped hundreds via Facebook."

"What? No-... Wait. THOSE WERE SERIOUS?! I thought they were spam!"

"Erza Scarlet has dumped thousands, though."

Lucy paused. "Umm, okay...?"

"But nevermind. We know The Titania because she is a national martial arts champion, a top student and one of Magnolia's and even Fiore's most outstanding high school students. You are one of those most outstanding students as well, Lucy-san, but I am more outstanding than you."

Lucy simply furrowed her brows. "Um-"

"I just can't beat Erza Scarlet's mock exam scores!" Ultear cringed, then quickly hid it as she flipped her hair above her shoulder. Gone was the curious and friendly girl from a while ago. Ultear meant business. "There's also our Kagura and that Minerva from Sabertooth - and I aim to beat them all in the Fiore U. entrance exams-... Then Jelly came and he's also a scholar. There is so much competition-"

Lucy shot Jellal a look - _'What kind of friends do you have?'_

Jellal looked back at her hopelessly._ 'Just please help me out here. I'll do anything...'_

"Also, I'm Gray's cousin and I think I've seen you from some photos at his place." Ultear finished. She was about to say something else when she noticed Natsu staring. "What?"

"You owe me a secret."

"You'll get one when I get one."

Natsu pouted. "Liar. You used to wanna be a fortune teller, I remember." Before the ladies could say more, he let out a high-pitched, _"Gray-chan! One day I'll be a famous fortune-teller, just you see~!"_

Ultear blushed and then quickly changed the topic. "S-S-Shut up about that! Alright, I have a secret of Gray's, and I'll text you later! Enough about other people!" - She then turned back to Lucy. "Heartfilia-san!"

"YES?!" Lucy says, stepping back. Meredy and Jellal stopped arguing and turned to them.

"Is Erza Scarlet... Jellal's fiancée?" Ultear asked, face serious.

"Why are you so curious?" Lucy asked, her expression cautious. Ultear could be a love rival and Lucy was definitely on Team Erza!

Ultear huffed. "Because if she is, I'll torture dear Jelly until he tells me her secret studying regimen and I'll finally be at the top!"

"Haha, you're funny after all!" Natsu chortled, but stopped when Lucy shushed him. He finally finished wrapping up the cake and placed the box on top of the counter.

"Alright, Ultear-san..." Lucy sighed. "Because Jellal-san is far too kind to interrupt you and Meredy-san as you question him about his love life..."

"Yes, do continue." Meredy said, listening intently.

Lucy glanced at Jellal, who was practically begging for her to please not embarrass him or he'd never hear the end of it. "Erza and Jellal-san were childhood friends. Jellal-san left Magnolia, but now he's back. It's really a good thing to know someone when you're new in a city, right?"

"Right." the other girls nodded. Jellal and Natsu both listened silently.

"Now, they've been really close as children and it's very nice to catch up to each other after years. Erza even helps him make new friends..."

They simply stared at her.

"Erza is a very busy person, but she makes time to talk to Jellal-san whenever he visits her in the afternoons to hang out. Jellal-san simply thinks it's very nice of her to give him some time despite her schedule, that's why he brings her treats to thank her."

Jellal then thought that Lucy was truly heaven-sent.

Meredy and Ultear both turned to Jellal and smiled wickedly.

"Give Erza-chan my regards, young man." Yajima-san chuckled and went back to the back room.

But it was Natsu who sniggered: "You lllliiiiike her!"

"I DON'T-" Jellal stopped midway and caught himself. He was in front of Erza's best friends... "I don't NOT like her, I... I just missed her. She's a good friend!"

"And more?" Meredy asked impishly.

Jellal simply took the box of strawberry cake from the counter and placed some bills in its place. "_'More'_ will be nice. She's a brilliant girl, but I don't think she's interested. We're both working hard on our studies."

"Ooooohhhh..." Meredy and Ultear chorused, and Jellal glared at them. Lucy simply smiled and headed to the register.

"You guys wrapped it." Jellal said, noticing the fancy packaging of the cake box. Gray never packed it this way...

"It's on the house." Natsu grinned, proud of his handiwork. It wasn't the best, but he wanted to boast to Gray about being better. "And Erza likes that kinda stuff. Don't let her tough act fool you."

Lucy grinned and handed over some coins as change. "Thank you for buying at Yajima-san's!"

"Thank you for everything, Lucy-san." Jellal says in relief, his gratefulness very visible. He also nodded at Natsu. "Natsu-san."

Lucy gave him a mock salute and Natsu gave him a thumbs up. They watched the trio exit the bakery, the girls still bugging Jellal about him and Erza.

"Say," Natsu started, draping an arm around Lucy's shoulders and leaning his head against hers. Lucy hummed as she flipped open her abandoned notebook from the cashier and continued her homework. "The guy doesn't know that when he's not around, Erza drops her panties at the mention of his name, huh?"

His face then met Lucy's notebook and the blonde squirmed out of his grasp. "Ugh, I hate you..."

"Oh, c'mon, Luigi!"

Natsu spent the next few minutes trying to get Lucy to say that she still loved him.

* * *

A few blocks down the street, Jellal made a show of being interested in baby bunnies so he entered the pet shop, with Meredy and Ultear still on his trail. When the girls each held up a baby bunny and started cooing at it, Jellal promptly went ninja and silently dashed out the shop.

He hadn't been the star of his former school's track team for nothing.

He reached Fairy High with the nicely-wrapped cake and with no additional baggage. Jellal knew, though, that he couldn't use the baby bunny trick again. Maybe next time he would step inside a shop of pretty dresses instead.

* * *

When he knocked on the door of the Student Council office, an unfamiliar male voice answered, "Come in." It was usually Erza who did that.

When he entered the room, he found a blonde-haired man slumped on Erza's chair. The man was wearing a fur coat, leather pants and combat boots, a pair of headphones still blasting loud music draped around his neck. He was smoking a cigarette. His feet were propped up the table.

_'A delinquent student?'_ Jellal first thought.

"You don't go here. Who're you?" the blonde asked gruffly. Jellal noticed the scar across one of his eyes. He was flipping through one of Erza's textbooks.

"Um, I'm a friend of Erza's." Jellal said, unsure of what to do. Where was Erza, anyway? She was always present when he visited...

Jellal saw the man eye the fancy box of cake. "Huh. The girl's actually got a suitor."

"No, I-... I'm just-"

"Someone's actually brave enough." the man chuckled, then looked back down on the textbook he'd been browsing. "You gonna stand there all day?"

"Oh... Um, no. Sorry for intruding..." the blue-haired young man stepped inside and sat uncomfortably on the couch. "May I ask where Erza is?"

"At the clinic."

Jellal's eyes widened in concern. "Is she all right?"

Laxus chuckled. "Are you for real?"

"But-"

"You should see the other guy. As usual, she had to take him there herself because apparently she has principles."

"Pardon?"

"Look, suitor. Two guys fightin', Er tries to stop 'em, they won't listen, she beats 'em both up to make them learn their lesson, and then takes 'em to the clinic because she's responsible Miss President. Got it?"

"She got into a fight? Is she-"

"She's alright. Not a scratch, maybe a broken nail, I dunno. Girl's stronger than a hundred monsters. I'm her brother, I'd know."

Jellal stopped.

_Erza had a-_

Wasn't she an orphan-

Then he recalled one of their previous conversations:_ 'Everyone else was getting adopted and there was a plan to close down the orphanage and transfer the remaining kids somewhere else. Principal Makarov then took me in his family - we got quite close, you know, because he taught me kendo and karate even before he adopted me. He still let me use my last name, too. Technically, Laxus is my nephew since it was his grandpa who adopted me, but Master Makarov told me to call Laxus my big brother...'_

"You must be Laxus-san." Jellal finally said.

"Yeah." the guy nodded, blowing a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

And then, just in time, Erza entered the room. "Laxus, feet off my table!" Her usually perfectly straight red hair was in disarray, her glasses were gone, and she was wearing her disheveled Fairy High blouse and skirt without the blazer.

Jellal looked away to hide his nosebleed.

Laxus replied, "You look like a delinquent."

"I was busy! I was-... J-Jellal?" Erza asked. Jellal turned to her (hopefully his blush was gone) and smiled sheepishly. Erza ran a hand through her unusually messy hair and bit her lip. "Oh, it's Friday."

"It's okay. I'm willing to wait." Jellal said kindly, ignoring Laxus' whistle.

"You've met Laxus." Erza said, trying to straighten out her uniform. She tapped Laxus' knee and the blonde huffed and finally withdrew his feet from the table. "My brother."

"Or so the old man says." Laxus mumbled.

"He's Principal Makarov's grandson." Erza introduced further.

Laxus, a good four years older than her, wasn't the best brother material but he and Erza shared a mutual relationship of respect. They were not really competitive but they were both achievers, although Erza was more of a hard worker and Laxus was more of a natural prodigy. "Laxus, he's Jellal. He studies in Sorciere. He's a scholar."

"Leave it for Erza to score a smart guy."

Erza ignored the implication. "Why are you here?"

Laxus put down the textbook and looked at her. "How's grandpa?"

Erza's expression then softened. "Why don't you see for yourself?"

"His office's locked up. Door says there's a meeting on-going. Would I even stop by to hang in here if I could just barge in there?" Laxus said, blowing out a puff of smoke. He frowned when Erza grabbed his cigarette and threw it in the nearby trash can.

"Off my chair." Erza ordered.

"Old maid." Laxus grumbled but he complied anyway, throwing himself down on the couch beside Jellal.

"When are you coming home, Laxus?" Erza questioned, and Jellal watched as she put her red-rimmed glasses back on. She took out the tea set that the two of them always used when they ate cake together. Methodically, Erza started preparing tea.

Laxus simply answered, "I dunno. When he stops being mad at me."

"He's not mad at you, not when he's letting you in his office to give you your college budget."

"He kicked me out."

"How's Freed?"

"Freed's fine."

"I bet he told you to make peace with Master."

"He tells me I can stay with him as long as I like, though I've been freeloading Bix this time. Stop blaming my band."

Erza raised an eyebrow. "I'm not blaming your band; I'm really just asking how Freed is doing."

"Freed's all right, they're all all right. But if grandpa doesn't stop his mad streak, Freed, Ever and Bix are gonna get tired of taking turns with letting me crash at their places. Ever has a boyfriend. It gets awkward, even if it's just Elfman."

The red-head rolled her eyes and then looked at her foster brother straight in the eye. "You said that last time, too. Just say you're sorry and Master will stop pretending he's angry whenever you come over for money. He feels very glad whenever he sees that you're okay. Believe me."

"Easy for you to say, Miss Perfect."

"Laxus." Erza stated firmly. Jellal felt uncomfortable watching them. Laxus stared back at her with twice the courage. "Your grandpa has forgiven you, he's just waiting for you to forgive yourself. Just come home and apologize. Stop just dropping by and getting money and then leaving again, being rude because you're telling yourself that your grandpa hates you."

The older 'sibling' frowned and looked away, then moved to stand up.

"Where are you going?" Erza asked.

"I'm not gonna sit here while you and your boyfriend have tea and cake." Laxus huffed. "I'll just hang out somewhere to wait for the goddamned meeting to end. Where are Natsu and Gray? I wanna bully people."

"Gray's probably out working. Natsu left early." Erza said.

"You can join us, we don't mind." Jellal hastily offered, thinking it was impolite to drive the guy away. Especially when he was Erza's family...

"Shit, I don't want to watch you two making goo-goo eyes at each other while drinking tea." and Laxus smirked when the two blushed together. "Don't do anything too naughty."

"Wha-"

"No-"

But the man was out the door.

Awkward silence resumed when the two were left alone. Jellal turned to see Erza tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear as she focused too hard on making the tea. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I don't mind. Not at all." Jellal said, starting to open the box of cake.

Erza noticed the fancy wrapper and raised an eyebrow. "That's from Yajima-san's, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Did Gray wrap that up?"

Jellal chuckled. "No, it was Lucy-san and Natsu-san in the shop."

_'Lucyyyy!'_ Erza inwardly screeched._ 'Why were you there in the first place?!'_ Outside, she simply chuckled as if she found it amusing. "Oh?"

"They had too much fun on it, I think."

"I didn't know Lucy worked in there now. I thought Fridays are Gray's shift."

"They said it's a one-time thing."

Erza shrugged off the randomness. She would just ask Lucy about it next time she saw the blonde. She lifted up the tray of tea and then set it before her guest on the table. They started to talk then.

It was all about academics and cram schools and mock exams at first, but then it switched to Jellal talking about his school life in Sorciere - he told her about the competitiveness and then his duties in the Student Council, which Erza was able to relate to. Erza listened because the week prior, she was the one who told him all about Fairy High. Jellal mentioned Meredy and Ultear being curious about Erza, too.

"Ultear, as in the 2nd top scorer in the mocks?"

Jellal took a sip from his tea and then answered, "Yes, the only. She's a really nice person... if she likes you."

Erza chuckled. "And what happened then?"

"As I said earlier, Lucy-san and Natsu-san were at Yajima-san's. You have to thank them. Beside the nicely-wrapped cake box, I think Lucy-san managed to save me from eternal torment. She's a life-saver."

"Why, what did Lucy say?" Erza asked before biting into a slice of cake.

"She managed to convince them that we're not dating." Jellal smiled softly at his tea as Erza sighed in relief, then he lifted his head to look at his companion. "Why did Natsu-san say we were getting married?"

Erza almost spit out her cake. "NATSU SAID WHAT?"

"He said we're getting married."

"Alright." Erza struggled to clear her throat. "NEVER listen to Natsu."

"I've learned that. Thankfully, Lucy-san managed to correct him."

Erza leaned back against the couch and sighed, then took another slice of cake.

Jellal looked at her. She had tied her hair up in a ponytail and had put on her glasses, although she didn't bother with her blazer anymore. Her blouse and skirt were rumpled. "Tired?" Jellal asked.

"It's been a long day, yes." Erza said softly, then leaned forward to take her teacup. They both instantly notice that the cup was empty. Before Erza could move, Jellal took the tea pot and poured her some tea. "Thanks."

"Anytime." Jellal said. "You really are tired, are you?"

"How did you know?"

"You've been eating the cake twice as fast."

Erza blushed. "NO! I'm... um, I just... this one's really good?" she finished tentatively, shyly.

Jellal laughed.

Erza tried to redeem herself. "I need energy! I still have homework to do and tomorrow I plan on studying the whole day and then maybe train on my kendo a little..."

"Tomorrow's Saturday." Jellal frowned then. "You've been slumped all week, can't you take the weekends off?" Even HE didn't study on weekend days - he reserved those little bits on weekend nights and even then he took it easy...

"Well, other than that stuff, I don't have anything else to do." Erza shrugged, then she started thinking hard. "Maybe I can clean up the house..."

"Don't you want to hang out with your friends?"

There were plenty of them, Jellal knew. He had met Lucy, Natsu and Gray... He also heard about Gray's sweet girlfriend Juvia, and the book-lover Levy-chan.

Erza smiled sheepishly. "To be honest, I'm not used to hanging out with them anymore. You know, movies, games, shopping, group dates, parties... I'm not really into all that stuff."

"But they do invite you, right?"

"Yeah, I guess-"

"They want you to come, then. Won't you at least enjoy the company?"

Erza blinked at him. "Are you trying to get me to go?"

Jellal looked away, not sure what to say. "Well, I... you seemed stressed and tired. I've been there. Studied too much, getting cranky and antisocial... You should learn to loosen up once in a while..."

On that, Erza couldn't argue. She simply looked down and poked lifelessly at her cake slice. "But they're... they're all starting to come in pairs now..."

"Come in pairs?"

"You know, the last time I went out with them, Gray and Juvia didn't let go of each other, Natsu was so busy rough-housing with Lucy, even Levy had Jet and Droy to worry about because they kept on fighting over her... and I was left alone. I was okay when Cana was there, but then she split up with us to go somewhere."

"You mean, you feel out of place because it's been so long since you really hung out with them and now it's hard to relate to them?"

"Exactly." Erza sighed. "It's okay if we go at The Strauss'. At least in there I can talk to Mira, but even Mira has customers to attend to."

"Why not invite someone to be your... uh," Jellal thought about it for a while. "...your buddy?"

Thinking hard, Erza pouted. "Who?"

Jellal stopped himself from saying 'Me' because it seemed too soon, hanging out with her friends. They seemed like a crazy bunch.

Erza was still thinking. "Levy said she wanted to go see a movie tomorrow and the usual bunch is in... Maybe I could go with them, but with who...?"

"You should go." Jellal said, sipping his own tea.

"That's it." Erza said, looking at Jellal and smiling. "I'll go!"

Jellal smiled back. "Yeah?"

"But only if you go with me."

Okay. Jellal definitely didn't expect that one. "M-Me?"

"You should meet them all. You'll love them!" Erza said with a wider smile this time. She then flipped her phone on and started pressing keys. "I'm texting Levy now... You love books, right? You should really talk to her. She told me Mysto frequents the library too and they've talked a lot... It's not just Levy, though. Lucy likes all sorts of books too! You were a member of the track team, right? Natsu used to run. He's really good but he's such a delinquent that the coach kicked him out..."

With the way Erza was talking about them as if they were her wonderful children, Jellal only swallowed and asked himself why he came up with the idea in the first place. It felt like she was introducing him to the whole family and it was kind of early for that. He couldn't help but think so.

But he looked at her as she excitedly texted her friends and, with the way she was so excited while she was not in her perfect student get-up, he clearly saw the ordinary girl in her. He kind of liked that girl better - when she was simpler, when she was smiling freely and was looking forward to everything...

It reminded him of the Erza he knew as a little boy: she was upright and out of place but was happy to have her friends with her. Meeting all sorts of people today told Jellal a lot about Erza. She had friends who knew her - Natsu wrapped that cake up for her, Lucy tried her best to stand up for her. Yajima-san was there, too. Obviously fond of Erza. Then, she had a parent-figure who kept her grounded and a family with problems... but at least there was a family. He thought they'd been talking a lot in the past few weeks but there was still so much to learn about her.

Seeing his wistful, hesitant expression, Erza suddenly realized that she hasn't heard him say 'yes' yet. "Jellal? Is it really okay? Will you come tomorrow?"

Jellal turned to her and shrugged. "Well, if I won't be intruding on you guys, I'd love to."

"Great! I swear, they're all crazy at first but you'll love them."

Jellal simply grinned. "Alright. Where do we meet?"

Erza's face lit up and Jellal couldn't be bothered with regretting anything anymore.

* * *

To be sure, Jellal went to the meeting place, the Mermaid fountain in the town square, fifteen minutes early. It was in his personality to be efficient, responsible and prompt.

Erza was already there, though, sitting alone on a bench near the fountain. She was wearing a plain black turtleneck top, a short white skirt, and brown boots. Her hair was in a ponytail and she didn't have her glasses on. She was fiddling with her skirt.

"Hey." Jellal called. "Did you wait long?"

"N-No, I've just arrived." Erza said nervously, then looked down again. "They're not here yet."

"We're just early." Jellal assured her, sitting beside her and staring at the fountain to avoid staring at the girl for too long. He had only ever seen her in her school uniform. She looked even prettier on her ordinary clothes...

"I haven't watched a movie with them for so long." Erza bit her lip. "I'm not even up to date with movies in general."

Jellal smiled knowingly. He had been there, not knowing what his friends were in to. "I'm sure they'll pick something everyone agrees on."

"I hope so." Erza nodded. "When was the last time you went out?"

"Just a few weeks ago." Jellal didn't even have to think. "Mysto and I took Wendy tout to eat because it was her birthday."

"How old is your sister again?"

"She just turned fourteen. Maybe I'll take her to see you one of these days. She really wants to meet you."

For some reason, Erza blushed and stammered her answer out. "M-M-Meet me? I-.. I'd be glad to meet her, yes but... but she might... not like me..."

"No way, Wendy already calls you 'Erza-nee-chan'. Blame Mysto for that.."

In truth, Erza thought it was a big leap. Knowing Mysto was one thing - they were the same age - but for some reason Erza thought that meeting Wendy, or even Jellal's parents, was a very... 'more-than-friends' thing to do. She was a very traditional girl, and with Jellal's little sister calling Erza her big sister, didn't that mean..?

"Erza! Jellal-kun!" Lucy interrupted Erza's train of thought as the blonde walked towards them. Jellal saw Erza look in panic down at her outfit when the red-head took note of Lucy's pink jacket, star-patterned tank top, short jean shorts and high heels. He inwardly chuckled - Erza was that worried, huh?

"L-L-Lucy, am I underdressed?!" Erza immediately asked, standing up and shaking the blonde by the shoulder. "I haven't shopped for new clothes in forever, I must look like a grandma!"

Lucy blinked and then patted her friend's arm. "No, Erza! You're perfect! Isn't she, Jellal-kun?"

Jellal thought that it was a trap but he fell into it willingly anyway because he had been dying to say it. "Uh, y-yeah. Erza, you look beautiful."

It made him think about lots of things when he saw Erza blush as red as her hair and look down at the ground, mumbling a shy "You're just saying that..."

"Have you two been here long?" Lucy turned to Jellal to ask.

"Not really."

"Wow, look what we've got here..." Lucy whispered, catching both her companions' attentions as she looked at the duo of newcomers.

"Gajeel came?" Erza blinked.

"Sorry for the wait!" Juvia called out pleasantly. She was clinging to Gajeel's arm but it looked more like she was dragging him towards the crowd. "Good morning, everyone! Gajeel-kun, greet them!"

"Morning." Gajeel grumbled.

"You must be Jellal-kun!" Juvia said, delighted. She held out a hand. "Juvia is Erza's friend and Gray-sama's girlfriend!"

"Nice to meet you." Jellal said, shaking the girl's hand. She sounded so sweet he couldn't help but smile.

"Gajeel-kun, introduce yourself!" Juvia turned to her flatmate.

"Gajeel." the guy said grumpily. "I'm her flatmate."

"I'm Jellal. It's nice to meet you too." Jellal said tentatively. The young man looked gruff, with all the piercings in his face and in his ears, the long untamed black hair and the all-black get-up...

"Gajeel-kun is a nice guy, he's just grumpy." Juvia assured their newest addition. Jellal nodded at her.

"Guys!" Levy came skipping towards them. It was a chorus of 'hey's and 'Levy!' from the crowd. "Jet and Droy had computer club stuff, so I'm alone. Hehe.." She first took notice of Gajeel's hulking form and she stopped to blink up at him. "Gajeel, I didn't know you were coming!" she said with a cheerful smile.

"Hi." Gajeel said, then put his hands back in his pocket.

Levy then looked at her friends. "Ah! Juvia, your dress is soooo nice!"

"Juvia thanks Levy-chan!" Juvia said happily, distracted as Lucy complimented her too.

"Jellal-kun! I'm Levy McGarden. Erza's been telling us about you!" the girl took initiative and grabbed Jellal's hand, shaking it enthusiastically. "She's right, you're very handsome!"

"Stop flirting." Gajeel remarked grudgingly.

"I'm not!" Levy pouted at himsmiling at Jellal again before letting go of his hand and standing back. Jellal saw Erza look at them in amusement.

"OH DEAR LORD OF BEER!" they all turned to see Cana dashing towards them, Gray walking after her. "ERZA, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" the brunette hugged The Titania and squealed. "You finally brought a boyfriend and he looks like a good person!" Erza simply stood dumbly as Cana withdrew from her and then hugged Jellal too. The blue-haired young man was too shocked to respond. "Erza's boyfriend! Mm, smells so nice!"

"Sorry, she's drunk." Gray said, signaling Lucy to help him with their friend. He and Lucy proceeded to pull Cana away from Jellal. Cana then saw Levy and said 'Awww, Levy!' before glomping on the smaller girl instead. Levy simply mouthed 'WHAT?' at Gray. The raven-head sighed. "She was drunk last night and had a hangover this morning, which she thought would go away with more beer, so she's drunk again."

"Ah.." Jellal laughed nervously. "Alright."

"Her name's Cana." Gray says curtly. "I'm Gray. Nice to meet you, man. I didn't know that the cakes you bought were for Erza."

"Jellal." the blue-head said, nodding. "Well, I didn't know that you two were friends." He turned to see Erza watching them with a small smile.

"You like them yet?" Erza whispered beside him.

"I'll survive." Jellal said with a chuckle, watching as Gray stepped in beside Juvia and smiled when the girl clung to him.

Finally, they heard an excited call of "Luuuuuccccyyyyy!" as Natsu ran towards them with a big, intricate bouquet of flowers in his arms. Everyone gaped, except Jellal who didn't know that it just WASN'T like Natsu to bring flowers.

"Natsu?" Lucy asked in shock when the guy held up the bouquet to her.

Natsu was grinning widely. "Flowers for you, Luce?"

"What the hell is happening." Gray muttered. It wasn't even a question.

They all watched Lucy blush and tentatively accept the flowers, still not believing that Natsu gave them to her. "I- uh.. T-Thank you, um, but... uh, did you buy these?"

Natsu laughed. "Haha! No way!"

Lucy paused. "What?"

"I was on the way here and this guy got dumped in the middle of the street and he threw away the flowers and ran away crying and I thought, hey flowers are expensive! So I picked them up and thought I'll give 'em to you since you like flowers, right?"

Lucy hung down her head in dismay. Their friends simply sighed. "You shouldn't have answered, Natsu..."

Natsu blinked. "Why?"

Lucy attempted a smile. "Nevermind. Thanks for the flowers. I love them." She patted Natsu on the back when the guy gave her a huge bear hug because she was so kind.

"Waaaay to ruin the moment." Gajeel said under his breath.

Gray muttered, "Even I know not to answer with that."

"Still the sweetest thing he's ever done, though." Cana mumbled. She saw Gajeel and Gray discreetly hand Levy some bills. Ah, the bets!

Natsu looked at Jellal but didn't let go of Lucy's waist. "Hey, Tattoo-face who bought cake yesterday but is not marrying Erza! You hanging out with us?"

Jellal couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I guess."

Natsu whistled. "Ohhhh, but don't make her mad or she'll transform into a girl knight and slice yo-" he only stopped because Lucy shushed him again.

Levy clapped her hands together and ignored Cana still struggling to stand straight behind her. "Alright, everyone's here! Let's get going, guys!"

Jellal watched along with Erza as the group started walking towards the movie house. Juvia was clinging to Gray and was talking to him about something. Gray was listening to her with a weirded-out expression on his face. Gajeel was trudging after them just behind Juvia. Lucy and Levy were talking about the bouquet as they walked together. Natsu was laughing at something Cana was saying while she was walking beside him with an arm draped around his neck.

Erza took a tentative step to catch up with them and looked at Jellal as he followed her before looking forward again, as if making sure he was still with her. Everyone else was talking, even Gajeel was pulled in by Cana to listen to her story and was arguing with Natsu.

Erza tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking down and feeling out of place because they were all talking about the flowers or a movie or something about the swimming club that Erza could barely catch on. She didn't know who to approach first.

She liked watching them all be happy together but sometimes it got lonely-

Before she could fiddle with the hem of her skirt again, Jellal took her hand and walked beside her. Erza stopped and looked at him with wide eyes and a tinge of red on her cheeks. "Jel-"

Jellal tried his best to look back at her big dark eyes and asked sheepishly, "Do you mind?"

For the few weeks that they'd been catching up, Jellal knew that Erza tucking her hair behind her ear meant that the young woman was feeling nervous.

Erza shook her head and looked away. Despite her reluctant expression, though, she twined her fingers with his. They started walking again.

"Yeah, I know!" Lucy laughed in her conversation with Levy, then turned her head to look back. "Hey, Erza-" She stopped when she saw Erza rest her free hand comfortably on Jellal's arm as the red-head looked up at Lucy to respond.

"Yes?" Erza said, an inquiring look on her face.

Lucy saw something in the red-head's face that spelled relief and comfort and for the first time that day, Erza looked like she was perfectly happy with them. Lucy had been wondering why the Titania was so silent, but now that Erza and Jellal were starting to catch up with them, Lucy knew she had been worried about nothing. The blonde simply shook her head and smiled sheepishly at Erza. "What movie do you want to watch?"

Erza awkwardly answered, "Uh... I'm not up-to-date, what do you guys want to watch?"

Jellal shared a look with Lucy before Lucy turned to Levy and asked about their options. He then looked beside him and saw Erza perfectly comfortable holding on to him as Natsu turned to engage Erza in one of his silly jokes. He thought that once they started talking to her, she'd let go of him, but instead she pulled him with her inside their little invisible circle...

This was a new thing for Jellal, being in such a big crowd. What surprised him more, though, was they all talked and chattered as if he had been with them all along. It was almost as if they didn't have a new member. Gray had turned to tell Jellal something about Yajima-san's, and he said it so casually that Jellal felt like he had been with them for a long time.

They had a large circle of friends and Jellal could understand that with everything Erza was going through, it didn't matter how many years he had been gone: she had a place for him but he shared that place with several people. He didn't get special treatment just because he had been gone for a long time. He felt kind of uncomfortable with them, but they were all being very accommodating. Besides, he turned to his side and he saw Erza holding his hand and talking to her friends happily. She looked happier with more people like this, than when they were children and he was the only one she had.

Jellal was content then. He didn't know why but for some reason he felt very light and… well, he felt good.

And Erza? Erza looked like she just took a breath of fresh air. For Jellal, she was best as just herself, not dressing up as anyone else, having communication problems because she was known as perfect and responsible.

She may be called the Titania but for Jellal, she looked most beautiful without the armor.

"Hey guys, since it's been long since Erza went out with us, why don't we watch the samurai movie?" Levy called out.

Erza gaped at them. "No, Levy! Don't give me special treatment! Please choose what you guys like!"

"But I heard that one's good." Gray said, looking at Erza. "I wanna watch it."

"Juvia wants what Gray-sama wants!" Juvia said, nodding fervently.

"Eh, I'm okay, as long as I get to have a break..." Cana shrugged.

"I'm in!" Natsu exclaimed, waving the bouquet that somehow ended up with him again.

The others said their agreement and Jellal simply looked as Erza watched them all fondly.

Magnolia was a new place for him, filled with new faces and new friends. Erza turned out to be new to him too, but she found it in herself to show him she was still the best friend he had when they were young. It looked like someone from the past was exactly what Erza needed to make the present better...

"I'm really really glad I have you back, you know." Erza told him silently, even shyly, as the group resumed their chatter.

Jellal chuckled. "You never lost me."

It took Erza aback but they heard a chorus of "Oooooohhhhhh..." from their companions and the alleged 'couple' looked up at them.

"Erza's a girl after all!" Gray and Natsu teased, sniggering like they always used to do when they were in gradeschool.

A vein popped in Erza's temple and she clenched her fist. "Why you two-"

They all watched as Natsu and Gray ran for their lives.

"So." Cana said absently, turning to Juvia. "Would you bet on them?"

"Another bet, Cana-san?" Juvia looked at the brunette, unsure.

"Think of it, cupcake." Cana said, laying a hand on the blunette's shoulder. "A scholar from Sorciere and Fairy High's Titania. Two schools! That will blow Natsu and Lucy out the water."

"What are the stakes?" - both girls looked up to see Gajeel contemplating.

"CANA ALBERONA! You are NOT going to start ANYTHING!" Erza said threateningly, pointing her bamboo sword at the brunette. "YOU TOO, REDFOX!"

"Oh goddamn, where does she keep that thing?" Gajeel whispered, preparing himself for a run.

As Erza chased them all around, Natsu had grabbed Lucy to be his human shield, while for some reason, Levy and Juvia were running around as well. Gajeel took it upon himself to toss Cana over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and run to save their lives.

When Jellal took out his phone and snapped the first picture, he had to run for his life too.

It was the best fun he had for a while.

* * *

.

.

.

**A/N: **As for what happened for the rest of the trip, it shall be answered in the next chapter. I hope you guys liked my Jerza, I'm not very good with it. I just don't think I should make it all fluff and rainbows because... let's face it, Jellal and Erza in the canon are the farthest thing from fluff and rainbows so far.. D:

**Coming up next:  
"On a Scale of 1 to Alzack and Bisca, How Long Are You Gonna Take?"**

Because if Natsu and Lucy is a matter of "Will They or Won't They?",  
Alzack and Bisca practically screamins "WHEN WILL THEY?"


	10. Track 10: You and Me

**A/N:** Can you believe it's already been 10 chapters? It goes by soooo fast and now we're halfway through this thing...

Anyways! This is the Alzack and Bisca chapter. These two don't get enough love and I say 'THAT'S BULL' because they're cute and canon and just so precious... I admit, on my early readings of the manga, I thought this "side-couple" was just cute. I always thought that Bisca looks like this gorgeous cowgirl bombshell and as for Alzack, I'm practically like 'Cut your hair, young man! You look bland compared to this beauty beside you!' and I guess that's just what made their relationship work for me in the end. PLUS THEY GOT MARRIED AND I PRACTICALLY THANKED HEAVENS BECAUSE THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL.

Enough of my ship rants now. On to the chapter.

I put in a lot in this one, particularly character-wise. I've always admired how the current generation of Fairy Tail is like a big circle of childhood friends of some sort, and I wanted to portray it here. So for this shot, there are lots of people, an all-girls moment, an all-boys moment and just general craziness.

Enjoy!

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 10: You and Me  
**..aka "On a Scale of 1 to Alzack and Bisca, How Long Are You Gonna Take?"

_"I know from the sound of your breathing exactly what you are feeling.  
This is why we make a good you and me."_  
- Plain White T's

.

Bisca stood by her locker that morning, staring at a folded piece of paper on top of her indoor shoes.

_'I hope it's not another love letter.'_

She took the paper, opened it and sighed.

It was from a boy in 3-B. She immediately thought of Alzack - it was his class, after all, but the name was written on the bottom and she simply thought it was silly to get her hopes up too much.

_'Al? Who are you kidding, Bisca?'_ she shook her head as she continued reading the letter. It was a typical _'could you be so kind to meet me after classes behind the school building?'_ request, and Bisca knew that she had no choice.

She'd go to tell the poor guy that she wasn't interested, and that he was a brilliant guy but she was summoning up her own courage to ask someone else. From the numerous times she had been confessed to, she had learned that saying _'yes'_ when they asked if she already liked someone was the most effective way of ending the conversation.

"Bisca," she was snapped out of her thoughts when the familiar voice of her best friend reached her ears. Bisca whirled around to see Alzack walking towards her. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Al!" she greeted back, keeping her hands behind her back. Bisca mustered up an easy smile. "You're early! What's up?"

"Cleaning duty." Alzack said, then cocked his head to the side. "What're you hiding?"

Bisca knew she should have known better than to hide something from the boy in front of her, though she was thankful that Alzack merely looked curious. She breathed deeply. "It's a secret."

Alzack nodded. "A secret as in let's keep it between ourselves, or as in you're not letting me in on it too?"

"Option B."

"Okay." Alzack shrugged. "Before you get mad at me for prying..."

Bisca gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks, Al."

"I was being reasonable."

Bisca quickly shoved the letter into her bag before changing into her indoor shoes. Alzack was still struggling to get his own shoes from the mess in his locker. "I have to go ahead, okay? I'm dropping by 3-A to return some of Levy's notes."

"Yeah, alright." he replied, looking at her. She was already a few steps away. "See you at lunch."

"Oh." Bisca paused, then looked back at him. "I promised the girls I'm eating with them today. We convinced Erza not to hole up in the council clubroom for once."

Alzack raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes, and we have... stuff... to talk about. Girl stuff."

"Ah..." The young man quickly got her point and raised both hands. "I back out. Have fun with the girls."

Bisca laughed lightly. "Maybe I'll drop by during break, okay? Bye! I really have to run!"

"Yeah!" Alzack called out, watching her retreating back. Just as she rounded the corner, he followed up: "Your tie's loose!"

"THANKS!" was her reply, barely in earshot.

Alzack shook his head and went back to his rummaging. After a few seconds, he paused and sighed.

_'That's the third time this month.', _he thought. _'She's just so beautiful.'_

Really. Bisca should have known better HOW to hide things from Alzack. She only ever hid love letters from him. Anything else, and she was an open book. He didn't know why. Maybe she thought that he'd tease her?

There was something more important than the number of confessions Bisca got every month, though.

Alzack breathed heavily as he found his shoes and dropped them on the ground by his feet.

_'When will I send mine?'_

Then he chuckled.

_'I have to worry about what to write first, though.'_

* * *

It was a riot in the classroom during break time. Alzack looked around to see what all the fuss was about. On one side, he noticed Laki talking to Mystogan about a book he lent her, then there was Max by the doorway attending to some first-years who were all holding flyers for the school festival.

Then, at one corner, was a group of boys who were nudging and teasing one of their classmates. They were all pointing and gesturing at something outside the window, and when Alzack turned to look too, he merely smirked.

_'So it's him.'_, he thought, looking at Bisca who was standing by the courtyard with some of her classmates, cleaning up just after P.E. class. The young woman was passing some equipment to Gajeel while giggling at something that Cana, who stood nearby, was saying. Gajeel and Cana started bickering and Bisca burst out laughing. He looked back at his blushing classmate again, who was trying to shove off his peers. _'So I'm not the only one busy staring out the window while 3-C is on their P.E. class.'_

Bisca had told him that she would try to visit on their break, but he already saw that she was busy with cleaning up and that she was enjoying her chat with Cana and Gajeel. Instead of moping around because she wouldn't be able to drop by, Alzack contentedly walked away from the window to join Laki and Mystogan in their conversation.

Alzack knew he shouldn't always demand or expect Bisca's attention. After all, she was one of the most popular girls in the school - the best of the archery club, a lead of the swimming club, a regular of the girls' volleyball team, and even with her sports activities she maintained pretty good grades. Bisca was beautiful and friendly. He was normal - he blended in the crowd pretty much all the time. He was not smart enough, not athletic enough and not even cool enough. That was him - he was not enough, so he simply watched her and tried to gather what he could on paper. At first he thought that maybe he could write her a love letter like so many of those other boys did... and maybe he could confess. He didn't want to mess up their friendship – they'd been best friends and confidantes since junior high - but sometimes he thought maybe he had a chance. _'Why not?'_ he always thought to himself, when there was enough composure in him.

Despite the rare bouts of confidence though, he was one of the people who knew how hard Bisca really worked on her extra-curriculars and on her studies, so he always thought that no one deserved a girl as awesome as her.

And those moments served as his cue to crumple the paper and ask, _'Why bother?'_

* * *

"Ahhhh, it's so good to be complete like this!" Levy clapped her hands together as Erza and Lucy, the last ones to arrive, sat in with the rest of the girls in a circle. "It's like junior high all over again!"

"Juvia wasn't there..." Juvia looked down tentatively. Lucy looked at her and nodded.

"Oh shush, you're one of us so deal with this." Cana said with a smirk.

The girls- Levy, Erza, Juvia, Lucy, Cana, Bisca, Laki and Kinana- sat in a big circle with their lunchboxes, bags and other school things. They all methodically started eating their lunch as the chatter began.

"I'm so bummed that I wasn't able to come with you guys to watch the movie last Saturday." Laki started, pouting. "My sister visited me in my dorm and we hung out."

"Mira-san told me they were short-handed that day so I had to come in." Kinana said, frowning. "I wish I could have gone with you all, too."

"It's okay. We can just go out again next time." Levy offered, then turned to Bisca. "How about you and Alzack?"

"I was helping my mom pack up. She's going on an overseas business trip." Bisca shrugged. "Alzack was out-of-town with his family to visit his grandparents."

"It's so sad you weren't able to come, because some really good stuff happened." Cana said, grinning slyly in Levy's direction. The blunette giggled, and the rest of the girls blinked at them. Finally, Cana looked at Erza. "Right, Erza?"

Erza raised an eyebrow. "Y-Yeah, I guess? The movie was good..."

"Oh, come on." Levy rolled her eyes, then turned to the others. "Erza brought Jellal along!"

"REALLY?!" Laki, Bisca and Kinana all said at the same time, looking at their startled student council president.

"You're really dating now?" Laki asked excitedly.

"Since when?" Kinana followed up quickly.

Erza shook her head and pointed her chopsticks shakily at the girls. "I-I-It's not dating! He wasn't my date! W-W-We're just friends, I wanted to introduce him to the others so... so... he can feel more at home here in Magnolia!"

"Keep telling yourself that.." Lucy said behind her hand, giggling.

Erza turned to her. "Natsu brought flowers for you!"

At that, Levy and Cana burst out laughing, Juvia giggled and Lucy facepalmed, while the other girls who didn't know about it were gaping.

"He picked it up from someone who got dumped, okay?" Lucy sighed, then decided to turn the attention to Juvia. "You and Gray were getting comfy in that loveseat in the moviehouse."

Juvia immediately blushed bright red, but spoke with dignity. "J-J-Juvia and Gray-sama are doing normal couple stuff!"

"But Gray was being sweet, right?" Cana said, poking at the blunette's side. Juvia covered her face with her hands but nodded.

"Awww!" the others chorused, then congratulated the girl on the significant progress. They didn't expect "Frosty" - of all people - to be good at handling a relationship.

"What else happened?" Laki urged Lucy to go on, and the blonde complied.

"Well, Erza was holding hands with Jellal - who she obviously isn't dating," Lucy giggled, ignoring Erza's furious blush, "and hey guess what - Erza has to tell us about what happened after they went home together!"

"I-I-I will not be bullied into this." Erza said decisively.

"But Erza," Cana started, grinning again. "If Jellal is just a friend and you're just friends, surely there's nothing embarrassing or out of the ordinary that happened when you two were alone."

Erza looked at her companions to see them nodding knowingly. They weren't going to let her live this down. "Fine." she sighed, putting down her lunchbox. She cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses first. "So as you said, we all went our separate ways, I decided to drop by Yajima-san's and he came with me."

"Cake again?" Bisca asked.

"No, I bought Master his favorite cheese buns. He asked me to take some home when I told him I was going out." Erza answered, annoyed that they thought it was all about cake with her. "Then, as we were walking home, he mentioned this reference book for the mocks and I told him I was looking for that, and he said he'd lend it to me."

"You went to his house?" Levy asked, excited.

"His house was on the way to mine, so technically, I just had a stop-over." Erza insisted, nodding at herself and her composure. "AND we weren't holding hands on the way, okay? I can walk perfectly. By myself." she said, looking pointedly at Lucy. "So we dropped by his house, and... well, I was surprised to find Romeo in there."

Lucy almost spit her drink. "R-R-Romeo?"

"He was in the backyard with Mysto and Wendy, they were making a kite." Erza smiled lightly. "Jellal introduced me to Wendy, and she's just the sweetest little girl. She looked so happy and excited and I swear, she just... glows or something." Erza trailed off, obviously very fond of the girl.

"I know." Lucy nodded, looking at Levy. "I told you, right? She's this big book-lover and she's so sweet..."

Cana raised a hand. "Wait, wait, wait. All of Romeo's friends are boys. Is our little Romeo being... you know, an actual Romeo?"

"Yes." Lucy nodded, looking at the others. "He told me and Natsu that he thinks Wendy-chan is cute."

For some reason that made all of them squeal.

"So then, what happened after? Did you stay in their house long?" Kinana asked, getting everyone back on track.

"An hour or so, maybe. Wendy was so enthusiastic about the kite fest so I just had to tell her some stories which weren't about how great Natsu and Romeo were, because that was all Romeo can talk about." Erza smiled, and some of the girls laughed at that. They all knew how loud Natsu and Romeo could be when they were bragging. "Then, Grandine came in..."

"You also met his mom?" Lucy asked, impressed. "Wow, Erza..."

"It's not a big deal! I was in their house and it would be rude not to introduce myself!" Erza cried. "S-S-So then, Jellal introduced me to his mother, and she wanted me to stay for dinner, but... well, I had to take the cheese buns home so I just told her that maybe I'll join them next time. Then she insisted that Jellal should walk me home, so I really couldn't argue on that..."

They all looked at her expectantly.

Then Erza pouted. "When Jellal dropped me by at our house, Laxus laughed at me."

The others laughed. That was Laxus, alright.

"He said it was nice that I have a suitor." Erza rolled her eyes. "I had to shove Laxus back inside so I could thank Jellal properly and see him off, because my favorite big brother was being such a jerk."

"Aw, but it's nice; Laxus seems to approve. Did Principal Makarov say anything?" Laki asked.

"Master was taking his afternoon nap." Erza answered, shrugging. "And Laxus pretty much just shut up at dinner because things are still rusty between them... kinda... but... at least he's going home again."

"Hm." Levy nodded, and the rest accepted Erza's story's conclusion.

"May I ask something?" Bisca said, curious. "I just noticed. You girls all have these plushies hanging on your bags. Did you get them on the trip?"

"Oh." the five girls looked down at their bags. Cana laughed and nodded at Bisca. "The boys got it for them, it's really cute."

"Really?" Kinana said, smiling at the cute little animals that dangled from the girls' bags.

"See, we hung out on the mall arcade for a while after the movie." Cana started. "And you know me, Reigning Queen of Cranes..."

The rest nodded. They all knew that Cana, despite being a tough girl who drunk like five men, was a plushie lover. She was the Crane Game Goddess of Magnolia Arcade - she was really good at getting what she wanted: one time she even got two plushies in one round. They all heard Gray complain one time about the 'little stuffed pests' infesting their flat.

"Well, after getting my fifth plush, Juvia said out loud that she thought one of them was cute..." to that, Juvia nodded with a smile on her face. "And because Gray was a good boyfriend, he told her that he'd get one for her too, and because Natsu is OBVIOUSLY BETTER THAN GRAY AT EVERYTHING, he decided to get one for Lucy."

"What about Levy and Erza?" Kinana asked.

"Well, either Gray or Natsu mentioned that they're not weak so they can get a plush, and Gajeel heard it and decided he'd get one for Levy."

"He didn't get one for me." Levy insisted. "He just happened to win one and he thought it was girly, so he gave it to me because he didn't want to give it to Erza."

Cana shrugged. "Then I turn around for a second and Erza has one, too. I think Jellal might be competition for me."

"It's really sweet, though." Bisca said. "And cute. How many tokens did it take?"

"I think Natsu and Gray just exhausted all their savings." Lucy sighed. "They were at it for AN HOUR."

The other girls laughed.

"I'm sure if Alzack was there, he would've gotten one for you too, Bis." Levy said, smiling knowingly when the green-haired athlete blinked.

"W-What? Al? He isn't even good at it." Bisca brushed it off with a laugh. "He'll probably give up on it fast, he's not that patient. That's why he digs shooting games."

"No, I believe if he's getting one for you, he wouldn't give up even if it takes him the whole day." Erza said. They all looked at her. The red-head blinked. "What?"

"Erza, Jellal changed you." Cana said, faking a sob.

"WHAT?!" Erza blushed. "I-I-I mean... Alzack obviously likes you!"

They all paused.

Bisca gaped. "W-What-?"

"A-A-And you obviously like him back, we can all see it..."

"Erza, no-"

"Bis, you should just confess to him, so you two can be a couple and the handful of confessions you get every week will stop." Levy said. Beside her, Juvia was nodding.

Bisca shook her head frantically. "No, you guys! Al and I are best friends and we know each other inside out, don't you think if he.. likes.. or loves me more than a friend, he'll tell me right away? I mean, he tells me EVERYTHING, so why not that?" she paused for a while, then continued. "And I... I like him very much, okay? But he hasn't confessed to any girl - ever - and when I asked him about it, he already said he's just summoning up courage to... to confess to this one girl, and... well, that makes me happy because he finally likes someone!"

"Bisca. It's you." Cana said, straight to the point.

"If it was me, he would've already told me." Bisca insisted, smiling uneasily. "And besides, nothing has changed since junior high. He's not acting weird at all. No new stuff. None."

They all looked at her tentatively.

Laki then spoke up. "You know, we didn't start a bet for you and Alzack because compared to Lucy and Natsu, which was a matter of 'will-they-or-won't-they', you and Al... it's 'when-will-they'. We're THAT sure."

"I'm here, you know." Lucy deadpanned.

Nobody minded her. They all looked at Bisca. The girl simply shook her head. "Girls. Al and I, we love each other, we've been best buds since junior high, but we're just friends and nothing more."

"They won't listen." Lucy said again.

"Yeah, we won't." Cana nodded.

"Nope." Kinana shook her head.

"We're waiting..." Levy hummed.

"Juvia thinks that Bisca-san and Alzack-san are just having a serious case of feeling friendzoned."

They all looked at Juvia.

"Juvia means that... well, compared to Lucy-san and Natsu-san who are either slow or dense or both-..." the blunette looked at Lucy. "No offense, Lucy-san."

Lucy sighed. "None heard. I don't hear anything anymore."

Juvia nodded and turned back to Bisca. "Alzack-san and Bisca-san know their true feelings but are just hesitant because they think the other only views them as a friend."

"Juvia, that's too much." Bisca tried to laugh, but she knew that, at least for her, Juvia was right. "I really appreciate you guys thinking we'd be great together, but Alzack is just really my best friend."

They still looked at her uneasily, as if finding it hard to believe what she was saying.

Taking notice of the green-haired girl's unease, Erza finally decided to change the topic. "Hey Laki, you're seeing someone, right?"

Laki looked up and smiled. "He's in college..."

"Oh, a university student!" Cana said giddily. "Details, please!"

Laki willingly talked to them and the rest was reduced to normal chatter as they ate their lunch.

While they were busy listening to Laki, Bisca only sighed.

_'Am I THAT bad at hiding it?'_

* * *

When class was dismissed, Bisca quickly stood up to pack up her things. As she said her goodbyes to Cana and their other classmates, she saw Alzack standing by the classroom doorway.

She heard a whistle, whirled around, and saw Cana giving her a thumbs up. Bisca simply shook her head and walked towards her best friend.

"Hey, Al."

"You didn't come during break." Alzack said, fake pouting.

"I didn't expect to be assigned on tidying up after P.E., thank you very much." she said, then reached up to poke the guy's cheek. "Stop pouting like that. You're a bad actor."

Alzack simply smiled. "You have swimming club practice today, right?"

"Right." Bisca nodded. "Why? Wanna go somewhere?"

"I was thinking of hitting off the arcade, but... well, I'll go with the guys instead."

"So... why are you here?"

He shrugged. "Just wanted to see you."

Bisca raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

He paused, then quickly said, "No. I'm actually waiting for Jet and Droy." Bisca hit his arm, faking annoyance. He laughingly asked, "What?"

"I thought you were being thoughtful!" Bisca said, then looked back at the classroom to see Jet and Droy still packing up. "Jet, Droy, Al's here!"

Jet looked up quickly. "Yeah, we're comin', man!"

"I gotta go. Aquarius-sensei will be after my head if I'm late." Bisca said, tapping him on the shoulder and stepping out the room. "See you."

"Yeah." he said, watching her walk away again.

"Your hair is long, Al." Cana said as she was making her way past him.

Alzack chuckled. "Yours too, Cana."

Cana was walking backwards in the hallway as she called out, "Better cut it if you wanna impress Bis!"

Alzack blinked at the brunette and simply replied, "Go to work, Cana! You're drunk!"

Cana laughed as she finally turned her back to him. "I never get drunk!"

"Gray says otherwise!"

"Gray gets drunk!"

He wondered how Gray and Cana managed - he guessed that it was one of the miracles of their friendship- that it kept being that way, simple and strong.

Alzack shook his head, then turned to Jet and Droy when they finally went out the room. The boys then decided to stop over 3-A to check if Natsu was coming with them.

Swimming practice wouldn't start for another 30 minutes, Alzack noted - but he knew why Bisca was running.

* * *

Behind the school building, Bisca met the boy who sent her the love letter. It was short - she told him that he seemed like a good guy, but she simply wasn't interested, and that she already liked someone else. He wasn't as persistent as some of the others, and she was thankful for that.

She let him take his leave first - she always felt really bad when she walked away first after a rejection.

After that, she headed straight for the school's swimming pool. It would take her several laps to really get her mind off of things.

* * *

Alzack, Jet and Droy managed to drag Max and Mystogan with them to the arcade. Max argued that he was really busy with cultural festival preparations while Mystogan wanted to go home early, but in the end both boys relented and thought that maybe hanging out with others would be a nice change of pace. When they got to the arcade, they searched for their other friends. Levy had told them that Natsu, Lucy and Gray had gone ahead of them.

"I see Lucy." Droy said out loud, then pointed towards the racing games. Lucy was concentrating on her game but the boys recognized the blonde pigtails and the oversized bright red FairyGaku Track Team varsity jacket. It spelled 'DRAGNEEL' and they just had to agree that there was no one else who would wear it.

"She's busy." Alzack said. "Have you seen Natsu and Gray?"

Mystogan nudged Jet and silently pointed towards the Air Hockey table.

The boys simply sighed when they saw Gray and Natsu basically trying to kill each other on their game. They were screaming silly nicknames back and forth, so the boys simply decided not to disturb the duo.

"Guys!" Lucy ran towards them, her hands tucked in the oversized jacket's pockets. They could hear the faint jiggling of her tokens. "What're you playing?"

"Anything, we guess. We don't always see you here. Got tired of studying?" Max asked.

"I should be asking you the same, Student Council Treasurer." Lucy smiled, then looked at them. "I kinda asked Natsu to do a favor for Gray and then promised him I'd come play here once."

"And now instead of playing with you, he's intent on killing Gray." Jet said, chuckling. "Oh well, what do you say we play some Street Fighter?"

"I'll fight you." Droy said, then turned to the others. "What about you guys?"

"I'll shoot some zombies." Alzack shrugged.

"Al, the top score records on that game only show your name now." Max sighed. "Oh, and Bisca's."

"Well, we enjoy it." Alzack said with a laugh. "I'm going there now, who wants to join me?"

"Me, me! I'll be player 2!" Lucy said excitedly. "Max?"

"I'm gonna watch Natsu and Gray go at it first." Max raised a hand in dismissal. "You guys enjoy."

"Mystogan-kun, how about you?" Lucy asked.

Mysto scratched his head. "Uh... I don't really know-"

The blonde frowned, then took his arm and dragged him to where Alzack was already waiting. "Oh, you be Alzack's player 2 instead! I'll watch!"

The gang went on playing different games for a while. After they almost broke the Air Hockey table, Natsu, Gray and Max headed over to where Lucy was cheering Alzack and Mystogan on.

"Oh hey, Tattoo-face B is here." Natsu remarked, standing behind Lucy.

"Call him by his proper name." Gray grunted, watching the game. "Damn, he's keeping up with Al."

"I know! They're on their second game already!" Lucy said, practically bouncing. "They're so cool!"

Max crossed his arms across his chest and watched with an impressed smirk.

Pretty soon, Jet and Droy were also in the crowd that had gathered to watch Alzack and Mystogan on their game.

After a few more minutes, when the game was cleared, Alzack and Mystogan turned to see their friends clapping their hands in awe.

"Wow, that was cool, man!" Jet patting their newcomer on the back.

Droy nodded. "To keep up with Al like that, whoa!"

Alzack smiled and held out a hand. "It's been a while since I've had a good game like that."

"No, that was... I... I don't even play too much." Mystogan said, shaking the other guy's hand and scratching his head.

"That makes it more awesome!" Lucy said, turning to Natsu. "Right?"

"Yeah. And your twin's good at Crane Games." Natsu grinned. "S-Class. Both of you."

"Hey, hey guys, look at the score." Max called out, and everyone turned back to the game screen.

They all gaped, while Mysto simply blinked.

"He-"

"D-D-Did he-"

"...yes, he did-"

"Oh wow."

Max looked at Mysto. "You broke Bisca's record."

"WHAT?"

Then they all turned to see Bisca looking at the screen in disbelief, Juvia fiddling behind her.

"Bis?" Alzack asked.

"Juvia?" Gray blinked.

"Gray-sama, surprise!" Juvia said with a nervous smile, somehow afraid that Gray wasn't pleased to see her. She relaxed when Gray simply smiled and gestured for her to come over. She latched on to him immediately and said, "Bisca-san told me you would be here so I went with her!"

"Practice was cancelled. Aquarius-sensei went out on a date." Bisca said, but her eyes were in the screen. "Now who broke my record?"

The boys pointed at Mystogan. Bisca shoved her bag towards Alzack and said, "Play with me!"

"W-What...?" Mystogan stepped back nervously. He knew it was a bad idea to enjoy the game too much... "I didn't mean to offend you, I didn't even know they were going to get my score-"

"No, I'm getting my name back up there." Bisca said, slipping off her school blazer and Alzack was quick to take it from her too. "Back with Al's. Over, sideways or under."

Uh-oh - the school's star athlete's competitiveness had flared to its peak level...

"Just do it!" the other boys said, pushing Mystogan back towards the game, while Bisca was already readying her own gun.

"Oh damn..." Mystogan sighed. Now he knew how Jellal felt whenever he and Wendy pushed him to do things...

"And don't go easy, okay?" Bisca said, looking at the blue-head with a serious expression. Then, to Mystogan's surprise, she smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not angry. It's just so nice to have a challenge."

Mystogan managed a light smile and he nodded. "I'll try my best."

"You better!"

The game started.

"Suddenly I got worried." Alzack whispered towards Max. The other guy laughed and patted the raven-head on the back reassuringly. "Should I be worried?"

"Yeah, but you wouldn't be for long if you just confess ASAP." Max said knowingly. "So do it."

The girls, of course, cheered for Bisca, and the girl smiled when she heard that the boys were cheering for Mystogan. It was always good to have a divided crowd on a competition. It challenged her more.

* * *

The game was cleared and Bisca's name was back in the top score sheet, below Alzack's, but above Mysto's. She was happy with just that. She took Mystogan's hand and shook it joyfully, to which the other guy pleasantly smiled and thanked her for the good game as well.

"She never gets rusty." Jet sighed.

Droy shrugged, watching the girls cheerfully congratulation Bisca. "Still the best shooters in Magnolia, Alzack and Bisca."

"Thanks for holding on to these, Al." Bisca said as Alzack handed her blazer and bag back to her.

"No problem."

"Wow, it's this late. I have to go home and cook dinner." Mystogan scratched his head. "It was really fun. I'll see you guys at school?"

"Yeah, thanks for coming, bro!" Max said. The rest of the group waved their goodbyes at their newfound friend.

"He was great." Bisca sighed.

"Really?" Alzack asked her, peering at her expression curiously.

"Yeah! Hey, you played with him, you should know."

"I think we should call it a day, guys." Max said, eyeing the two knowingly. "Al and Bis should catch up and we should leave them alone."

Alzack was quick to turn towards the rest of the group. "Wha- You guys-"

But Max was already dragging Jet and Droy away, while Gray and Natsu were being pulled away by their respective 'girls'. "See you!"

"Y-Yeah!" was all Alzack and Bisca were able to call back.

* * *

"So, listen you guys." Max said, as soon as his company was out the arcade. "Alzack got worried."

"Worried?" Natsu asked. "Worried about what?"

"Well, Bisca and Mysto were having fun." Jet sniggered. "If I was Al, I would be worried too."

"I told him to confess." Max sighed.

"And if he doesn't?" Gray asked.

"I guess we'll see tomorrow." the treasurer simply shrugged. "Let's leave them to their devices. They've been doing well so far, right?"

"Right. If by '_So far'_ you mean they've been holding back for like a decade..." Jet shrugged.

"It's actually almost six years." Droy said, pondering.

Max sighed. "Let's trust Al. So... well, I'm going home now. Warren's waiting at the dorms."

Jet nodded. "Me too."

Droy raised a hand. "Three. You guys?"

"I gotta run, too." Gray said. "My shift at the Pegasus is about to start."

"Juvia is going home."

"Same here." Lucy said.

Natsu was quick to drape an arm around each girl's shoulders and pull them towards him. "I'll walk 'em!"

"Alright." Gray nodded, then turned to Juvia. "If he does anything weird to you, decapitate him."

Juvia nodded obediently. "Hai!"

Gray patted her head. "That's my girl."

Natsu gaped and turned to Lucy. "She just agreed to kill me!"

Lucy shrugged. "And she can. So don't get ideas."

"Hai." Natsu grumbled, looking at Juvia, who was smiling cheerfully at him.

* * *

Inside the arcade, Alzack and Bisca had finished a short round of Air Hockey. "So, what about basketball?"

Bisca nodded. "Sure."

* * *

The next day, when Alzack told Max that he wasn't able to do anything, the blonde sighed.

"Come with me, Al."

A few minutes later, Alzack found himself in the boys' washroom surrounded by his friends.

Max, Warren, Jet, Droy, Natsu, Gray - even Gajeel and Mystogan - were there, although Gajeel settled himself on one corner of the room (Jet and Droy still hated him, of course) and Mystogan was silently standing on the other side.

"What is this?"

"Emergency intervention." Max answered.

"You said there's food." Natsu frowned. "That's why I came."

"Ssh, be quiet." Warren said.

"What are we intervening?" Alzack asked.

"Alzack, it's Bisca's birthday tomorrow." Max said. "Do you have a present?"

"Of course!" Alzack answered, raising an eyebrow. "I got her this cool bullet bracelet."

"Good." Max accepted the answer. "And when are you telling her that you're head over heels for her?"

"Wha- I'm not-"

"One of the guys in our class was planning to confess tomorrow... I just heard." Gray said.

"B-But-"

"Mystogan-kun, do you like Bisca?" Max asked quickly, taking the silent guy at the back by surprise.

"What-... No, man." Mystogan quickly raised his hands and shook his head. "She... she was a nice girl and I enjoyed the game with her yesterday, but... no, definitely not in the way that Alzack does."

"See?" Max turned back to Alzack. "If Bisca gives up on you because you won't do anything and she falls for a guy that doesn't like her back, you'll be crushed."

Alzack sighed. "I know, but-"

"You made him admit it." Natsu whispered to Max, but got hit on the head by Gray.

"All of us already know, dumbass." Gray said.

"SHUT UP, SNOW PRINCESS!"

"WHY YOU-"

"Ssh, be quiet!" Warren said again, shutting both guys up.

Max cleared his throat. "Al, care to tell us why you haven't told you best friend about how you feel yet? You had three years - we all know you were already in love with her since first year. You're that obvious."

"Look, guys." Alzack said, looking up at all of them. "Alright, since you already know - yeah. I love her and all that. She's my best friend since junior high and she's brilliant - heck, I just breathe and she knows what I'm thinking. But I've never really told her anything about how I feel about her, because... I mean, look at her! She's pretty, she's smart, she's in three sports clubs! She's perfect. To top that all off, she never brags and she works hard on everything, and she has all these friends who love her. I tried writing everything I want to say to her on paper, I really did, but then I always stop and look at myself - I'm practically walking camouflage. I'm so ordinary, and definitely not good enough for her."

"So who's good enough for her?" Natsu asked.

Alzack sighed. "I don't know. Got no way of knowing. I always ask myself _'Why bother? She's too perfect.'_"

"Wait a minute." at the sound of the rough voice, they all turned to its source. "Wait."

The boys didn't expect Gajeel to speak up at all.

"Yes, Gajeel?" Max asked.

Gajeel looked at Alzack. "So you're sayin' that you think this girl is perfect, right?"

"Yeah." Alzack said, nodding. He never really talked to the guy before.

"And you're tellin' us she's pretty and nice and kind?"

"Um.. yes."

"So because she's all that, you're givin' up because you got nothin' to be proud of."

"Yeah, that's kind of the whole point-"

"Bullshit." Gajeel grumbled, looking up at the ceiling.

"Hey, you-" Jet started, offended - but Gray extended out a hand to signal that they listen to Gajeel.

The Iron Dragon looked at Alzack again. "Isn't that the main point? She's all that, so you got all the more reason to fight for her."

Alzack looked back at the raven-head. "W-What?"

"You're sayin' she's perfect, isn't that enough reason to grow some balls and tell her you like her, 'cause I dunno about you, but fighting for her would show her that you're not 'just that', that... you can be like, 'more' for her or something."

They stared.

"Just putting that out there. You guys said this was an intervention, so I thought we gotta knock some sense into 'im."

Gray was the first to turn back towards Alzack. "I agree with him."

"Y-Yeah..." Jet and Droy both nodded, albeit quite hesitantly. Max turned to Warren and then to Mystogan, who both nodded as well.

Then Natsu said, "I wonder what Juvia put in his breakfast."

Gajeel glared. "Fuck you."

"YOU-"

"Ssh, be quiet." Warren said again, this time slightly annoyed.

"W-Well..." Alzack spoke again. They all turned to him. "Well, I still-"

"He wasn't moved. We have to use force." Gray said.

Alzack suddenly looked up. "Wha-"

Max nodded at Gray's suggestion. "Jet, Droy?" Before Alzack could move, Jet and Droy had taken each of Alzack's arms.

"Wha- MAX! What're you guys-"

"Natsu, Gray, his legs, please." the mentioned boys grinned wickedly before taking hold of each of Alzack's legs. Meanwhile, Alzack was screaming for help.

"Alright, guys, pin him to the wall. Warren, do you have the equipment?"

"Yes." Warren said, taking two items from his pocket-

A pencil and a notepad.

"G-Guys, this is not funny..." Alzack said, shivering nervously.

Just then, a flush from one of the stalls was heard.

The boys paused.

Max looked at Gajeel. "I thought you locked the door."

Gajeel was also at a loss. "I did."

"Then who-"

One of the bathroom stalls opened and a small figure stepped out.

The boys all gulped. "PRINCIPAL MAKAROV!"

"Ah-... this is-... Err-"

"It's a game-"

"We're totally not bullying Al-"

"Max!" the principal said firmly, regarding the group's 'leader' with a serious expression.

"Principal, we can explain-"

Makarov raised a hand and the boy shut up. Then he smiled. "Good work so far, my boy. If the operation succeeds, I'll double the cultural festival budget! Keep it up, everyone!"

Alzack all but cried. "PRINCIPAL!"

But he was drowned out by his friends' "YES, SIR!"

Makarov skipped his way towards the doorway. "Gajeel-kun, may you be so nice as to let me out?"

Gajeel fumbled for the knob quickly. "Y-Yeah..."

"Oh I have something here... hm, let's see..." the old man looked around and saw Mystogan standing around dumbly. "Mystogan-kun?" He gestured for the young man to lean down, then whispered something into the student's ear. After that, he handed a small object to Mystogan and the boy nodded.

"Thank you very much, sir."

"No problem! Gajeel-kun, the door?"

"Hai." Gajeel opened the door and the principal walked out.

"W-What was that?" Alzack said cautiously.

Mystogan simply smiled.

"DAMMIT GUYS, LET'S STOP THIS!"

"Mystogan, guard the door." Max instructed. "Gajeel, if you would do the honors?"

Alzack gulped. What would Gajeel do with him?

Gajeel left the guard duty to Mystogan and walked towards their hostage, cracking his knuckles. "My pleasure."

"W-W-Wait, really- Guys, just-... Please-"

"Alright." Max crossed his arms across his chest and stepped back, leaving a struggling Alzack pinned to the wall to be taken care of by Gajeel. "His weak parts are his sides and behind his knees."

"Got it. On your cue." Gajeel looked at Max.

Their fearless leader nodded. "Tickle him."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

On the rooftop, the girls were having another one of their get-togethers.

"Did anyone hear that?" Erza asked.

Her companions looked up. "Hear what?"

After looking at the girls and not hearing the sound again, Erza shrugged. "Must be my imagination." She looked at her friends again and noticed Cana's gaze fixated on her phone. "Cana? Anything wrong?"

Cana flipped her phone off and put it back in her pocket. She grinned. "No, everything's perfect."

* * *

Bisca stood in front of her locker that morning. It was weird, she thought - it was her birthday - her inbox was filled with greetings mostly from the girls...

But Alzack had yet to send her a greeting. Funny, it was him who always called her at 12:01 in the evening to make sure he greeted her first...

When she opened her locker, there was a folded piece of paper. She sighed - not another one. Nevertheless, she picked it up. She put on her indoor shoes first before reading the contents.

_'Bisca-san,  
You were a joy to be with. I immensely enjoyed our time together yesterday.  
I hope we can be good friends.  
I had been told of how much of a briiliant you had been,  
if anything, the one who told me that said he treasures that the most.  
- Mysto'_

Bisca blinked at the letter.

Well, that was very vague.

And... and Mysto? Mysto as in Mystogan? THAT MYSTO? And... well, it was really very weird...

"Bisca-san." a gentle voice called from behind her, and Bisca turned to see Mystogan standing by the lockers with a small smile. He walked towards her.

"Mystogan-kun? I-... Um, good morning..." Bisca said, trying to gather her words. "Um... Did... did you send me something-"

"Yes, I did drop that letter in your locker."

"Really? I-... Uh-"

She stopped when he offered her a single red rose. "Happy Birthday."

Bisca blushed bright red and shakily accepted the flower. "Thanks! U-Um, about your-..."

"Will you please accompany me somewhere?"

"But-"

"Please?" Mystogan offered an arm. He threw her his most pleading look.

Bisca was about to take his offer, but she quickly shook her head. "Mysto-kun, I really don't think-"

"Just please trust me on this, Bisca-san."

"Alright, but no big surprises, okay?"

"No big surprises."

"Who put you up to this?"

"..."

"Can't tell, huh. Okay."

Mystogan led her away from the lockers and towards the school hallway. Just then, a song started playing from the school's P.A. system.

Bisca blinked. "I love this song."

"Good." Mystogan said.

"Those are the school speakers! How did you-"

But Mystogan had stopped walking when they came across Jet, who was leaning against the wall.

Bisca blinked when Jet handed her another rose, attached to another folded piece of paper, and wordlessly offered his arm, much like what Mysto did.

"Okay, guys, this is weird." but the girl simply took the rose, the note, and let Jet lead her while she read the note.

_'Happy Birthday, Bis.  
You're one of the smartest girls in our class, you know.  
But I never knew that you stayed up late nights studying even after a whole day of practice.  
- Jet'_

"Oh, Jet. This is sweet, but... but it's still-"

"Weird, I know."

"Strange." Bisca sighed. She didn't even notice that they had climbed a set of stairs... that is, until Jet paused and escorted her to their next stop. "Droy."

Droy did what everyone else did, and Bisca knew better than to complain. She accepted her third rose and opened the next note.

_'Hi, Bis._

_It's really cool how you're in three clubs.  
I always thought that you were just really talented like that.  
Some people even called you a show-off once...  
I didn't know that you like swimming because it relaxes you and takes your mind off things when you're stressed.  
I didn't know that you joined the archery club because your late dad liked archery and that you miss him terribly.  
I didn't know that you loved volleyball because it's how you bonded with your mom after your dad passed away.  
Most of all, because I didn't know all that, I wasn't able to appreciate how strong you are.  
You didn't let those sad memories drag you down and you're still smiling at everyone.  
We think that's cooler than anything._

_Love, Droy.'_

When they got to their fourth stop, Bisca paused, mouth open. "Wow. Really?"

"Really." Gajeel rolled his eyes. "The things I do for these morons... Here." He said, offering her his rose and note. As soon as she took the items, he said, "Follow me." and started walking.

Bisca followed him obediently, reading the note.

_'Happy Birthday, sharpshooter.  
I never would've figured you for a video-game kind of girl.  
To make sure, I played the zombie shooting game yesterday and I couldn't even reach half of your record.  
I didn't know you were kick-ass, but someone insisted that you were and I kinda agree.  
Fight me sometime.  
- Gajeel'_

"Sure." Bisca blurted out before she could even realize what she was saying. "Sure, let's play sometime."

Gajeel chuckled. "Here's my stop."

Gray smirked as he turned to them. "Happy Birthday, Bisca."

"Thank you, Gray." she said, accepting the flower and note he gave her. Gajeel grunted, "Frosty, your shirt's unbuttoned."

"Oh hell. Wait a minute." Gray said, hurriedly buttoning up his shirt. Then he looked at Gajeel. "I'm takin' it from here, Master Tickler."

"Shut up." Gajeel send walking away.

"Master Tickler?" Bisca asked, but Gray simply led her further down the hallways by the shoulder.

"Worry about that later. I've gotta deliver you." Gray said.

Bisca nodded and opened the (by now) tell-tale note.

_'Bis,_

_Since junior high I always thought your green hair and purple eyes were unique.  
No offense, though, but I never thought they were particularly beautiful.  
Let me elaborate:  
I never stared at your hair that much, I never noticed that they stay curly for a few hours after you undo them from a braid,  
I never noticed that you tie it up whenever you're busy...  
I always was impressed that you still keep it that long even when you're a sports girl...  
If you ever cut it, I wouldn't complain.  
But guess what? I know someone who would.  
He thinks you're beautiful with your hair long.  
And your eyes?  
Man, he practically drowns.  
Good luck with him.  
Happy Birthday._

_- Gray'_

"Gray-"

"I'm not allowed to tell."

"Alright." Bisca sighed.

"This is me." Gray said, stopping his walk. Bisca was then engulfed in a bear hug from none other than Natsu.

"Natsu!"

"Happy Birthday, Bisca!" Natsu said, letting go of the girl. "This is kinda a surprise thing we're trying to pull off, so just follow me, okay?"

Bisca couldn't help but laugh. "Okay."

Natsu handed her the rose and the note, and he practically pulled her with him as she read.

_'Dear Bis,_

_Your cooking is yummy, ya know?  
Could use a little more spicy but then that's my Fire Dragon talking...  
Anyways...  
Whenever you share your lunch with us I always think  
that the guy who would marry you is a very lucky dude.  
I never imagined myself to be that guy.  
But I know someone who won't just feel lucky,  
he'll feel that it's the best thing ever...  
GET MARRIED ALREADY!  
Happy Birthday!_

_- Love, The Great Fire Dragon Natsu!'_

Bisca couldn't help but chuckle and say another thanks to Natsu.

Their next stop was Max, who bowed gallantly before handing Bisca his rose and his note with a small smile.

"Oh, Max."

"This is our second to the last stop. Please come with me."

Bisca let him lead her again.

_'Bis,_

_Happy Birthday!  
I've know you for almost all of six years...  
You've been a really great friend. There's really nothing more I can ask for -  
you were very trustworthy and fun and I don't regret a single second of it...  
But I don't count the seconds I spend with you.  
I don't keep track of every minute I get to be with you.  
I don't remember our every hour together.  
I don't notice every smile or every laugh you give me.  
But I know someone who does.  
He had wanted to tell you sooner, but you know what he told us?  
He told us that you're too good, too perfect for anyone...  
And that he was afraid you won't be happy with him,  
because all he cares about is seeing you happy.  
So give him a chance. Let him ask the question...  
And hey, you can say 'yes'._

_- Max'_

"This is my stop." Max said, stopping and then stepping away from Bisca. The girl was about to reach out for him, but another voice cut her off.

"Bis."

Bisca turned back around to see Alzack standing in front of her classroom (she didn't even notice where the boys were leading her!) and holding a red rose.

She noted that he wasn't holding a note.

"Al?"

"Yeah." he said, looking down shyly.

Bisca stared. Alzack's long shabby hair was cut short and was spiked up so she could see his face more clearly. "You cut your hair."

Alzack cleared his throat. "Cana cut my hair, actually. While all of them held me down."

Bisca couldn't help but laugh. "Really?"

"Mm-hm." Alzack nodded, then gingerly walked towards his best friend.

Bisca gulped. 'Is this what I think it is?'

"Bisca?"

"Yes?"

He held out the flower.

"I don't think I have to say anything else... I think they already wrote it all down."

"They did." Bisca said, accepting the rose. "It was very sweet."

Alzack breathed deeply before he finally asked the question. "Will you go out with me?"

He was answered with a tear-streaked, "Why not?"

That's when the rest of the school clapped their hands and wolf-howled and squealed and rejoiced.

Alzack had grabbed Bisca in a bone-crushing hug and was saying 'thanks' against her hair, while Bisca was crying and telling him that it was all very sweet and perfect.

_"Alright, guys, that's one couple down!"_ Cana's voice errupted from the school's P.A. system. _"Now we just have to wait for Natsu and Lucy - for bet inquiries, please see Class 3-B's Max or drop by The Strauss' and look for Mira-"_

_"CANA, STOP THAT!"_ - they heard Lucy shriek and then the two girls obviously struggling for the microphone.

_"Girls, calm down!" _- was from a voice they recognized as Warren.

Alzack and Bisca laughed together as Levy and Laki pounced on them with their congratulations, and the other 'accomplices' made their way towards them.

"Is everyone in on this?" Bisca asked her best friend, who was still holding her against him.

"I don't know. Max organized everything." Alzack said with a relieved sigh.

"The girls knew about it too?"

"I think it was just Cana at first, but then she got everyone else on it too."

They saw Juvia running towards Max to hand the guy a video camera.

Max nodded approvingly. "Good work, Juvia."

The blunette smiled cheerfully. "No problem! When it comes to stalking, Juvia is unbeatable!"

"Yeah, I don't know if that's a good thing or not." Gray sighed.

"Gray-samaaaa~!" the girl turned to him to give him a hug.

Gray simply said "Yes, Juvia. It's me." as he pat her head like a puppy.

Via the school speakers, they heard the riot on the control room.

_"You guys calm down! We're done here so we should get out!"_

_"We still have to give the room's key back to principal Makarov!"_

_"I repeat everyone - for bet inquiries-"_

_"HEY!"_

_"-prizes include a gift certificate and a coupons for-"_

_"CANA!"_

Then everyone heard Erza's voice. _"Good job, everyone! The principal has confirmed! Our cultural festival budget has been doubled!"_

Laki and Max high-fived.

.

.

.

**A/N: **Writing something that long, with that many scenes, and that many character per scene, it's so. damn. hard. to keep everyone in character but I tried my best. I wonder how Mashima does it. He gained more respect points from me after I finished writing this one.

But this was the most fun chapter to write so far, and I'll really appreciate it if you guys let me know what you thought about it. ;)

See you next chap!

**Coming up next:  
"Ever Just Needs a Man"**

This fic needs more Raijinshuu and Strauss.


	11. Track 11: Just the Girl

**A/N: **I'm back! Sorry for the lateness. Evergreen and Elfman are hard to write. They're not my most favorite pair, but I pretty much loved how Mashima wrote them. I, however, enjoyed writing the Raijinshuu. I'm still getting accustomed to Mira, though.

This is 11k words long. It's very lengthy because it has a dun-dun-dun! Backstory! This is the first of the Raijinshuu-centered chapters and I used it to set up the four. So please forgive. There's ElfEver, a teeny-weeny Jerza, mentioned Gruvia and as always, nobody's hiding the bets from either Natsu or Lucy anymore.

Slight warning though: this is kinda... charged... with feelings. Um. Yeah. There's a lengthy conversation about feelings. And girls. And mostly feelings. It's kinda more romance-centric than usual. Whoops. I always thought that Evergreen's and Elfman's best problems would be how to deal with each other.

Thanks for everyone who left a review while I was dead. I won't keep you guys waiting any longer, so here ya go!

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 11: Just the Girl  
**..aka "Ever Just Needs a Man"

_"She laughs at my dreams but I dream about her laughter._  
_Strange as it seems, she's the one I'm after."  
_- The Click Five

.

Freed Justine was a very disciplined and methodical young man. His morning routine goes like this: get out of bed, look at Laxus in the Raijinshuu's framed photo in his desk, brush hair, wash his face, brush his hair some more, start making breakfast, look at Laxus in another one of the band's framed photos in his kitchen counter, brush his hair a bit more, eat breakfast, drink milk, and then start his day...

Not before looking at Laxus in the band's photo in his wallet first, of course.

That one day, his day started as such. He got out of bed, looked at Laxus in the band's framed photo in his desk, brushed his hair, washed his face, brushed his hair some more, started making breakfast, looked at Laxus in another one of the band's framed photos in his kitchen counter, but just as he was about to go brush his hair a bit more, a knock on the door interrupted him.

Freed furrowed his brows - who could be knocking at his door that early in the morning?

It was 5 AM. Freed always started his day extra early (Bixlow didn't dub him_ 'Mother Rooster'_ for nothing).

_'Maybe it's Laxus, coming early to greet me good morning.'_ Freed thought with a sigh, then inwardly slapped himself. _'You're not awake enough, Freed. WAKE UP.'_

The green-haired bassist opened the door and gaped at the sight that greeted him.

Laxus stood in front of him with a paperbag and a bouquet of flowers. The blonde greeted with a rough but decent, "Good morning, Freed."

"Laxus?"

Laxus shrugged. "Yeah?"

Freed blinked. "Laxus."

Laxus looked at him blankly. "Hm. What?"

Freed struggled to breathe properly while hiding his obvious bewilderment. "...G-Good morning..?"

"Yeah." Laxus nodded, raising an eyebrow. Why does Freed look like he's about to freak? "You alright, man?"

"No."

Laxus suddenly stepped forward - why is Freed not alright? "What? What's wrong-"

That snapped Freed out of his trance and the smaller young man quickly stepped back, raising his hands and smiling widely. "I mean NO, I'm okay! I'm good! I'm-... I just woke up, you know.. a little sleepy-"

"Oh." Laxus calmed down considerably. "Well, ya gonna let me in, then?"

"Sure, sure. Come in." Freed said pleasantly, closing the door behind them as Laxus stepped inside his flat. The blonde walked in and set the flowers on the couch, then headed towards the dining area to set down the paperbag he was carrying.

"Um, Laxus, why're you here?"

"To bring you breakfast." Laxus already headed to the kitchen, taking out a plate. He navigated the kitchen as if it was his own house.

"Breakfast?"

The blonde then noticed the cooking area. "Oh. You've started cooking."

Freed followed him and simply said, "I made an omelette."

"Good. I brought bread. From Yajima-san's." Laxus said, returning to the dining table to put the bread in the plate he just took from the kitchen.

That only confused Freed further. "Oh, that's... nice. Why?"

Laxus grunted. "Last night Gramps told me to go to you first thing in the morning and bring you something nice as thanks for letting me crash here for like a year while we were mad at each other."

"Oh." Freed nodded, hurriedly fuzzing around the kitchen to cook for another person. He had only made enough for one and he knew that Laxus was a big eater. "You don't have to do that. You're my best friend. Of course you can stay over."

"I don't mind, though. You make good omelettes. Did I really crash here for a year?"

"It was for only two months and five days. Then you transferred to Bixlow for a week and gave up. You stayed with Ever for five days, too, I think." Freed said.

"Huh." Laxus huffed, then took out a jar from the paperbag. "I have chocolate fudge for you too."

"L-L-Laxus..." Freed turned to look at his companion with sparkling eyes. "T-T-Thank youuuu..."

Laxus smirked. Bixlow was the sweet tooth of the group, but they all knew that Freed would kill for chocolate fudge. "Hey, the old man told me to give you something nice. What's nicer than breakfast and chocolate fudge, right?"

"R-r-r-right.." Freed was halfway into gross sobbing. The only thing keeping him from hugging the other man was his cooking.

After a few minutes, Freed laid two plates of omelettes (Laxus' plate containing thrice Freed's helping) in the table and sat with the other man.

"Itadakimasu." - and they started eating.

"So what about the flowers? It's not everyday I see you with flowers, Laxus."

"Oh. They're for Evergreen."

Freed almost spit out his breakfast. "W-What?!"

"Not from me!" Laxus quickly said, shaking his head. "Well, I was on my way here and Elfman was pacing in front of the building. I asked him what's up, then he shoved me the flowers and asked me if I could give 'em to Ever."

Freed frowned slightly. "That's not very manly."

"I know."

"But he's... early..."

"Though I think if I didn't pass by, he'll be pacing until noon, so I guess the early hours are justified."

"Why did you bring it here, then?"

Laxus looked at his companion with a pointed expression. "Freed. You're the only person who wakes up at five and eats breakfast at five-thirty."

"Oh."

"Ever's crazy but she's usually asleep at his hour. Elfman's a good guy but I'm not risking my head by waking his woman up before seven. Seriously, you're not awake enough, are you?"

Freed sighed and simply mumbled "That's exactly what I told myself earlier." before taking another bite on one of Yajima-san's delicious breakfast buns.

Laxus kept eating the omelettes and talked with his mouth full, though. "Why are they fighting again?"

"I don't know. I'll never want to know. They're hopeless." Freed answered, sighing again, but this time at the thought of Evergreen and Elfman in a lovers' spat YET AGAIN. "It's... what, the fifth time this month?"

"More like this week." Laxus grumbled.

"Actually, yes. They fight like every other day."

"And I don't know how the fuck they get back together."

"Ditto. Bix knows, though."

"Bix knows your waistline, Freed. He even knows how many strands of hair is on my head. He basically knows everything."

Freed shrugged. "I don't want to go to band practice today."

Laxus, however, shivered. "Yeah. Ever will just rant on us again. You know sometimes I really hate her?"

"Yes. It's obvious."

"It's just that she's so noisy and all she talks about is the doomed hook-up and the next day she's really happy and all, but she's still noisy."

"Yes. She is."

"What is it with women and talking?"

Freed nodded. "Preach."

"Y'know what, if she talks about her fucking lovelife in practice later, I'm telling her to stop being a bitch and make up with Elfman."

"That's good." Freed nodded again, enjoying his breakfast. Yajima-san's recipes were always the best... "Although I think you should... rephrase it. She'll slap you for the b-word. You know her, she's-"

"-a delicate flower?"

"Mm-hm."

"It's how I show affection."

"I know. Still, though. Do it gently."

"But y'know, it's her fault."

"Mm-hm."

They ate in silence for a few minutes.

After a while, they said at the same time, "It's always Ever's fault."

* * *

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT! HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE MY _FRIEND_!"

Behind the toy store counter, Bixlow cringed and retorted, "You're gonna scare my customers, man!"

Evergreen glared, making Bixlow involuntarily hold on tighter on the stuffed unicorn he was holding. "Man? Did you just call me a man?! Do you know how often _he_ calls me a man?!"

"Man-.. _Dude-.._ err.. EVER, calm down, bro-.. uh, sis!" Bixlow said, hopeless, trying to look past the woman in front of him to see if he had any customers. For a Saturday, the shop was relatively empty, so he decided to indulge his friend and bandmate for a few more moments. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"Yeah, you better be. I go here looking for a friend to lean on and then when I tell you what's up, you say _'What did you do this time?'_ and THAT'S _NOT_ OKAY, BIX. I didn't do _anything-"_

Bixlow rolled his eyes. "It's really always _your_ fault-"

The brunette's eyes flared again. "Strike two."

"Yeah and I'll go for strike three because it's the truth - it's your fault, Ever."

"You really said it thrice. Even Freed and Laxus were kinder."

Bixlow shrugged. "I thought they brought you the flowers. Why didn't you rant on them?"

"Well, Freed was in such a hurry because he's going shoe-shopping."

"And Laxus?"

"He actually told me he's coming with Freed."

_"Awww..."_ Bix cooed, while Evergreen sighed a sigh of resignation.

They both wanted to be angry at the two (Ever for them ditching her, and Bix for them practically sending the brunette to him) but they felt so bad for Laxus who, for all his greatness, sucked so much at making up excuses.

"But the flowers were nice, right?" Bix said, absently stroking his stuffed unicorn's bright pink fur.

"They were." Ever grumbled, then slumped in the counter and buried her head in her hands. "He got all my favorite flowers in there, even the colors were perfect-"

"So forgive him. I mean it's enough that he says sorry even if it's your fault-"

"Strike four, Bix."

"Look, Ever! A handbag sale across the street!"

Suddenly the woman bolted up and whirled around to look in the direction where her friend pointed, only to see the Blue Pegasus hosts waving flirtatiously at her from across the street. "Where- Ow!"

She got hit in the head by the giant stuffed unicorn. Bixlow said, "Out of the shop, Evergreen, and talk to someone else. My boss would fire me because I have a friend scaring all the customers away."

Just then, Evergreen noticed a couple of preteens who just entered the shop and were looking over several dolls. They were obviously trying very hard not to stare at her.

The brunette sighed. "And here I thought I could count on you three."

"You could, really. We have your back, but you never listen to our advise so we just kinda hate you for that sometimes. So go away for now, okay? I'll see you after my shift. We got band practice later, anyway."

Evergreen huffed and prepared to stomp out the bookstore. She turned to her friend again. "Bix, is it my fault?"

Bixlow stared and simply moved the unicorn's leg to make the stuffed animal wave at her. "Talk to Mirajane." As the woman left the shop, Bixlow sighed and looked down at his stuffed animal. "Y'know, Uni-chan, sometimes I wanna strangle her."

* * *

Evergreen walked down the streets of the Magnolia town square, deep in thought. She decided to heed to her friend's advice. Maybe Mirajane can help her - Mira helps everyone, after all. She didn't have to worry about Elfman being there, too. She knew he was busy with college and she knew his class schedule. At this time of the day, he should be in class. She always thought it sucked to have Saturday classes, but this time it was an advantage for her.

She was momentarily cut off from her thoughts when a male voice called her name: "EVERGREEN! My, still the beautiful flower I remember from our high school days! Care to stop by for a chat?"

It was followed by a younger-sounding one: "Onee-chan, your dress fits you very well, they bring out the color of your eyes..."

Evergreen stopped for a while and then looked back at the Trimens with a lethal glare.

Hibiki's and Eve's smiles were unthreatened, while Ren took a step back. "I-It's n-n-not like I said anything. If you're turning someone to stone with that glare, I should be counted out... Besides, my... my love is s-s-strong enough to break any curse."

Evergreen raised an eyebrow at the tsundere's quip, slightly impressed. That was different. She still wouldn't back down, though. The woman breathed in, getting ready to say a sharp retort, when another male voice cut her off.

"Ignore them, Evergeen. Just keep going, pretend they're not here. Also, the club's still closed. They're just flirts."

Evergreen turned to see Gray in just his boxers, dumping several trash bags in a bin before walking back inside the Blue Pegasus Host Club via the back door.

"Hey, part-timer! You work here so don't drive away our customers!" Hibiki called out to their part-time maintenance employee, annoyed.

"Oi." Evergreen finally said, catching the three men's attentions. "Maybe if you guys showed off your goods like he does more often, you'll catch my eye."

They stared at her.

When they wordlessly started taking off their coats, Evergreen promptly facepalmed, turned 180 degrees and made a beeline for The Strauss'.

* * *

_"SHOE-SHOPPING WITH FREED? SERIOUSLY, PAPA?!"_

Laxus had to put the phone away from his ear because of the sheer volume of his bandmate's "greeting". The blonde sighed and simply replied, "I didn't know what to say, okay? She looked like total hell so I just wanna run away. I mean, shoe-shopping's the shit compared to what she has in store for us..."

"Yeah, I kinda get your point... Why didn't you guys warn me, though? She went to the toy store looking like Satan. Wait, that's Mira. Okay. Ever's Medusa. She went in looking like she was about to pulverize me after turning me to some kinda statue."

"We forgot. Sorry. Hey, at least you made her go away, right?"

"...Right. But next time, PLEASE send a text that you're gonna send the abomination my way!"

"Got it, got it! Was it _that_ bad?"

"Well, we've had worse-..."

"There ya go."

"She was evil and I hit her with a unicorn!"

"Good."

"I still demand candies for my trouble!"

"I'll tell your mother. He just went to the loo to retouch or something, I dunno what takes 'im forever."

"Wha-... You're still with Freed?"

"I thought you knew we were shoe-shopping."

"THAT WAS TRUE?"

"I got nothin' better to do. We're doin' his groceries after."

"Alright. I got it. I'll just hang up and go back to work so I can stop being a thorn in this marriage. When Mama comes back, tell him I said, _'Hi, your hair looks nice already so no need to brush it every hour'_ okay? Tell him you love him, Papa."

"Go to work, Bixlow."

Laxus hung up and turned to see Freed walking back towards him. As soon as the other man got into hearing range, Laxus said, "Candies."

Freed frowned. "I knew we should have warned him."

"It's okay. At least he's not asking for ice cream."

The last time Bix asked for ice cream and they got the wrong brand, they swore they thought the guy would hate them for life.

* * *

Mirajane was taking it easy that day. The bar wasn't filled with customers yet, Kinana and Cana were both in, and for once she was not bustling busily around the counter. The silver-haired barmaid was drying some dishes with a towel while engaged in a conversation with Erza when the chimes by the bar entrance rang, indicating the arrival of a customer.

She looked up to see Evergreen stepping inside the bar.

"Evergreen!" Mira greeted happily, then stopped when she noted the brunette's expression. Erza had also turned to greet their friend.

Evergreen was standing still by the doorway, looking past the barmaid who greeted her.

Mira turned to see Elfman, carrying a tray full of empty glasses, frozen in spot as well, looking back at the newcomer. When Mira looked at Evergreen again, the brunette nodded politely and quickly moved to get out the vicinity. When the door closed shut, Mirajane looked at her brother and immediately put down the plate she was drying.

"Elfman, what did you do?"

"O-Onee-chan, I really don't know-"

Mirajane frowned, hurriedly stepping outside the bar counter and heading for the door. "Go away so she'll come in! Just come out later!"

Elfman meekly nodded and practically ran towards the bar's kitchen.

"Evergreen!" Mirajane called as she got outside, quickly spotting the brunette already several meters away. "Evergreen, is there anything wrong?"

Evergreen stopped and faced Mira with a small nervous smile. "N-No, everything's alright! Why would you ask? I... I just remembered that I have to go buy this reference book-"

"Oh, I'm not believing that!" Mira smiled back and walked forward to grab the other woman and pull her back towards the bar.

"B-But-..."

"Elfman just went out on an errand. He's not there anymore."

Evergreen sighed and simply let the barmaid usher her inside the bar again.

"Hey, Evergreen." Erza said, smiling as the brunette sat next to her.

"Hello." Evergreen greeted back pleasantly. She wasn't really close to Erza... or any other girls for that matter, but she knew Erza well as the girl was always there whenever they hung out at Laxus' house back in high school. "No club activities?"

"Kendo practice is still in the afternoon." Erza said. "I just dropped by to hand Cana something I borrowed... and well, it's been a while since I talked to Mira here."

"Yes! You guys are so busy with school, being seniors and all..." Mira sighed. "Even Lucy and Levy have been dropping by less."

"Lucy's busy helping out our cheerleaders." Erza said. "Levy's busy with the cultural festival preparations."

Mirajane nodded understandingly, then turned to Evergreen. "May I take your order?"

"Oh, um..." Evergreen started. She really didn't come to order anything, but nevertheless, out of politeness, she said, "Iced tea."

Mirajane turned to ask Cana, but she saw that the girl was sitting with Gildarts, Macao and Wakaba. Two of the men were cheering the brunette on what seemed like her fifth bottle of beer while Gildarts seemed lost on whether to stop or encourage his daughter.

"C-C-Cana-chan, it's not even lunchtime yet?"

"This is vitamins!"

"But Cana-chan-...!"

As Kinana was also busy serving a young couple on the far side of the bar, Mirajane went to get Evergreen's order herself. Erza was contentedly eating parfait while Evergreen put down her bag and sighed, slumping against the bar top.

A tall glass of iced tea was served before her.

"Thanks, Mira."

"So what's gotten my future sister-in-law down?" the barmaid asked. At the address, Erza looked at them curiously, while Evergreen looked away.

"Your brother, of course."

"What did he do?"

"Can we please not talk about him today?" Evergreen asked, trying to hide her annoyance - not at Mira, but at herself. Bixlow was right when he told her that she should talk it over with other girls, and Evergreen was doing the exact opposite.

"Well, alright.." Mira said, frowning slightly. Was it that bad? Evergreen seldom came to her to talk. It was usually Elfman who confided in her. Hence, she always heard her brother's side and it always sounded like it was Evergreen at fault. Mira knew that she hadn't heard the other side of the story so she always kept her mind open - of course Evergreen would have her reasons. So that day, Mirajane did not know where to start - she knew she should really get to know the other woman better, but at the same time she was relieved that Evergreen wanted to avoid the topic. Mirajane wouldn't know how to handle her. She knew Erza, Lucy, Cana, Kinana and the others more than she knew her brother's own girlfriend for two years.

After a bout of awkward silence that even Erza didn't know how to break, Mirajane simply smiled. "So how's Freed?"

Evergreen raised at eyebrow. "You want to talk about Freed?"

"Your boys haven't been dropping by as much." Mirajane shrugged.

"Laxus is just brooding again." Erza said simply.

"Freed won't come without Laxus, and Bix is working part-time in the toy shop because there's this new action figure coming out, I think..." Evergreen said absently. "You sure you want to talk about your ex?"

Mirajane giggled. "Oh, everyone knows we parted in good terms."

"No offense but that was two months of awkward. When you were together, it's like... well... you didn't even know _how_ to be together..." Evergreen admitted. The conversation was getting easier then. Evergreen was good at talking about other people. She just never wanted to bare herself.

"We're better as friends." the barmaid put in bluntly. "Oh, but he was such a sweetheart. That's why I miss his visits! He always brought these beautiful flowers... He brought some for me the last time he dropped by. He grew fond of me, I guess."

"Wow." Erza said. "That's so mature."

"Freed is a drama king like that." Evergreen sighed. "What do you really want to hear about him, Mirajane?"

Mirajane leaned forward and whispered, "Any progress with Laxus?"

Erza blushed. Evergreen groaned and slapped her forehead. "Let's talk about your brother instead! Watching the two of 'em dance around each other gives me and Bix headaches, we should just put a mistletoe over their heads one of these days!"

Mira blinked. "You haven't thought of that sooner?"

Evergreen looked down. "Let's switch topics again. Laxus mentioned Erza's scholar boyfriend last time."

Mirajane blinked. "Erza has a boyfriend?" - why has she not heard of that before?

When they both turned to Erza, the girl was hurriedly finishing up her food and trying to avoid all kinds of eye contact. "I think I'll go drink with Cana." She started to stand up, but both Mira and Evergreen had pushed the red-head to sit back down on her chair.

Even Cana turned when Erza exclaimed, "Jellal is just a friend!"

For a while, Evergreen forgot about her problem. She knew, though, that she was simply avoiding it.

* * *

Gray was just putting his shirt back on after lifting some heavy boxes in the Blue Pegasus' storage room. His shift was over. He headed to the backroom and then to the men's room to wash his hands. He was just packing up his things when he heard knocking on the back door.

Nobody knocked on the back door. All other employees just simply went in. Knowing this, Gray cautiously opened the door.

He found Elfman standing by the back alley, arms crossed across his chest and frowning hard at the ground.

Gray blinked. "Yo, Elf. What's up?"

Elfman looked up at him and shrugged. "I had a fight with Ever again."

Gray raised an eyebrow this time. "So... that's supposed to be new?"

"No, but-"

"Everyone knows you're gonna make up in a day or two."

Elfman sighed.

"Whoa." the raven-head took at step back. "Dude, is it _that_ bad?"

"She came to the bar to talk to nee-chan, that's why I left."

"What did you do?"

"I don't know."

"No. I mean what did you do to apologize about whatever the hell you supposedly did to upset her that much?"

"Flowers. All her favorites."

"And...?"

"I had Laxus deliver them."

Gray facepalmed, the groaned in resignation. "You didn't...!"

Elfman scratched his head. "I was... too nervous, and... Laxus stopped by just at the right time, and I figured that she wouldn't yell at Laxus as much."

"That's not right! You should apologize directly!" Gray said. After two years of dating one, Elfman hadn't learned a thing about women.

"I know, but she'll get angrier! She always gets angrier-"

"Then why do you even try to apologize if that upsets her more instead?"

Elfman thought about it first. "Because it's the right thing to do?"

"And do you know exactly what you're apologizing for?"

"No."

"Why don't you ask her?"

"Then she'll know that I don't know what I'm doing!"

Gray stopped, then nodded. "Yeah, she will."

"So..." Elfman started. He didn't really ask for advise often, but he knew Gray was in the vicinity. He saw the guy working when he passed by earlier. Gray was one of his closest friends. Even though he was several years ahead of Natsu and Gray, the three of them were troublemakers and have been in a lot of brawls throughout middle and high school. He was surprised when he was told that Gray and Juvia got together. But somehow, he knew they would work out really well. Gray can be as dense as Elfman and as brash as Natsu, but Elfman knew that the guy would handle a relationship well - Gray was mature like that. So he thought that he might as well ask for Gray's input if he was going to do something. "What do you think?"

"What do I think about what?" Gray said, briefly checking his phone and then pocketing the gadget again. "You sure we should go talk here?"

"Yeah. What do you think I should do? To know why Ever's so upset?"

"Geez, man." Gray groaned. "Why'd you have to go with such a hard girl, you know? Even Erza will be better to deal with, at least she's blunt and she only needs cake."

"Stop lecturing me. You and Natsu told me not to stop coming after her until she says _'yes'._ You guys told me to take it like a man."

"We didn't know she would be so... so _mean._ We knew she'd be hard and cold but we didn't know she's be THAT hard and cold." Gray huffed. "Even the realest of real men will give up. Sometimes we don't know if you're really that tough or you're just stupid. We all knew she can be as nasty as Mira, although she hadn't changed. Mira did."

"Look, just help out a friend, will ya?"

"If you can't talk to her, talk to her girl friends." Gray simply said. "Juvia always tells me that when she can't talk to me about it, she tells Lucy, Levy and Erza. You probably know her friends, right?"

"That's the thing about her, see." Elfman tried to explain as carefully as he can. "She doesn't have any other close friends. She tells Freed, Laxus and Bixlow everything, but when I ask them, they don't understand her too."

The raven-head stared disbelievingly. After a few moments, he stood straight again. "That's it, we're going for our last resort." Gray said, scratching his head in disdain. He didn't want to actually offer that one option, but it was the only other way he could think of.

"What is it?"

"You stay away from her and wait until it all boils down and then apologize again and buy her something nice. THEN maybe you'll be okay again."

"Does that work?"

"How the hell should I know? I don't let things get that bad with Juvia." Gray said, quite too smugly for Elfman but he knew what his friend was trying to say.

_'Lay low and wait a little while. Take more time to really think about it hard.'_

Elfman was trying. He knew that he really was. It was just that he hated seeing Evergreen upset, and it didn't matter if it was because of something he said or did, or something others said or did. He hated seeing Evergreen upset - period. That was why he always did his best right away to fix her up.

Sometimes, though, it really is just not working right for them.

It seldom works out right for the two of them anyway.

* * *

Evergreen always hated her eyes. Screw it - she hated many things about herself. As a little girl, she hated how her hair showed off too much forehead. When she tried to cover it up with bangs, it never looked good. She hated how her eyes are too dark and how she always looked like she was glaring or angry. She hated how her lips aren't as full or as red as the other girls. She always wanted to be pretty. She got teased because of her forehead, or her eyes. She was somewhat of a bookworm as well... and the other girls bullied her often. She had been an outsider when she was young. She thought herself very ugly back then.

Then came middle school. Her long brown hair was still curled in the wrong places and her perpetual frown was in place. She still didn't like her face, or her features - but back then, what she hated most were her eyes. They really, REALLY glared, she always thought. She tried smiling but she wasn't as pretty as the other girls. She never bothered to befriend them. She has had enough bullying and teasing, she told herself. She can get by without them.

She met Freed in the library one time. He was the kid in her class who, like her, always kept to himself. He was a smart boy always buried in books and he was pretty much deaf to the world because his mp3 player volume was always turned up to max. He was her first friend. Even then, when she trailed after him in silent companionship, she always thought that she looked terrible beside her very neat, dignified and good-looking friend. Freed never commented on what she looked like anyway, although he always told her to brush up or wear this color or try some lip gloss...

It was funny, she thought. A few years later they would be commenting on how girly Freed is, but the truth was that Ever owed him her stunning looks, Laxus owed him his love for furcoats and Bixlow would have been called Rapunzel if Freed wasn't there to demand a regular haircut.

By the end of middle school, Evergreen was still silent and standoffish, but HECK, she had damned good skin from all the stuff Freed shoved at her, really nice lips because Freed told her never to forget her lip gloss (he checks EVERYDAY, like it was class attendance), shiny and silky long hair because Freed would often brush it for her when he was bored or stressed or angry (it was like a coping mechanism - it mystified the whole band sometimes), and glasses that helped her hide her glare because Freed suggested it. She thought that after three years of tagging along beside the school's token pretty boy, she looked decent. Even pretty in some angles. She thought she did not look ugly anymore...

Still, she stayed unapproachable, silent, and locked up in her shell. Freed helped sometimes, but she seldom opened up to him. She knew he would listen, but really - she just had nothing to say. She thought she didn't have problems. Everything was enough. Nice hair, skin and face, good grades and one trusted friend.

When she entered high school, she did not know why, but suddenly it seemed like she was really pretty. Freed told her that she just grew. A lot. He so bluntly pointed out that her chest department was particularly blessed, her hips were a nice shape, and her pretty face and hair makes up for the forehead and the cold-hearted glare. By then, Evergreen rolled her eyes and thought that Freed better be gay, because she didn't think that a straight man could say that with a straight face.

Laxus was Evergreen's first love. The practical part in her insisted that he wasn't ideal - he was brooding, had a scar on his face, was a delinquent despite being the principal's grandson, and he was very rude. But then Laxus made Freed smile when one time the two guys just happened to talk about music. Evergreen had never seen Freed smile like that, so she accepted Laxus in their circle... and the 'puppy love' grew from that. Back in high school, Freed was the one who let Evergreen lead the way, simply tagging a few steps behind her even though she knew that she was still the one really following him. After Laxus and Freed became acquainted with each other, Laxus walked behind Freed. When Laxus discovered that Freed plays the bass, they would jam in his place in the afternoons. When they asked Evergreen if she could sing for them, she screamed a big _"NO!"_. She was never a lover of music. She never really listened to anything except the ones she happened to hear in the radio. The boys looked at each other and then handed her ten CD's of punk and classic rock.

They told her they'd buy a nice dress for her if she tried singing.

She did not know, even until years of friendship, how they knew that she could sing even before she did.

She never confessed to Laxus. She valued the boys too much to risk their friendship like that. Besides, Evergreen knew that Laxus would have no time for girls - he was always on some kind of fight with his grandfather. She also knew about the possibility of Freed having his own feelings for their leader. The feeling faded into a dull ache over time.

The boys got Bixlow out of nowhere. All she knew was that their drummer was weird, calls his toys 'babies' and calls Laxus 'Master'. The 'Master' changed to 'Papa' when Freed became 'Mama'. Evergreen envied how Freed was the Mama, but she always let it pass. Her boys took good care of her. They really did.

Evergreen remained herself, though. Silent, smart, careful, cold and very much content with only three people for regular company. Once, Bixlow asked Freed what Ever was like during middle school. Freed only shrugged and answered: _"She didn't change a bit, except now she's very pretty and she's working hard to maintain that."_

Evergreen thought there was nothing wrong with it. And again - her boys took good care of her. She was happy in her own way. Sometimes, though, when she complained, they would oh-so gently say that maybe she should talk to another girl.

She wouldn't. Not when they were all either much prettier or too patronizing or when the girls who knew her for a long time would simply say _'she looked terrible back then and it's all make-up now' _even thought Ever knew that she wore little to no makeup regularly. Not when they were just interested in asking about the boys, or when they were frowning is disappoval because they think that Ever isn't good enough to hang out with cool, mysterious Laxus, or handsome, charming Freed.

Evergreen agreed to sing for the band's first performance in the cultural festival because of one reason: she wanted to prove herself.

_'I'm standing here,'_ she thought then, _'because I'm good enough, beautiful enough and loved just enough.'_

She always lived by that.

She lived by things being just enough.

* * *

"So what really happened was this," Freed started, sitting with Laxus and Bixlow in the studio as they waited for Evergreen to arrive. "Ever was being mean, Elfman apologized, and Ever got mad because he did so."

"Mm-hm." Bixlow nodded, busy playing a game in his PSP.

Freed looked at the ceiling, confused. "And for some reason, Elfman thought he was doing something wrong, and Ever hated that and got even angrier. Then he asked her if he's not good enough for her because she never seems to be content and then Ever got upset? _Then _he really didn't know what to do and he left?"

"For the third time: YEAH, DUDE." Bixlow raised an eyebrow. "You've repeated the story three times. It won't change, ya know."

"What the fuck?" Laxus asked, plucking at his guitar strings absently. "Why was she being mean in the first place?"

Bixlow shrugged. "She was being herself. Which is mean."

"Yeah, I get that part. That's Evergreen, alright. But why did Elf apologize?" Laxus asked again. Freed always knew that Laxus can be insensitive, but he himself was confused too.

"Because if you get mad at them, girls think you don't like them, or you want to hurt them, or you're being sexist or something, apparently." Bixlow said, pausing his game and looking at his audience. "But maybe Ever thought he was being weak, apologizing so fast-"

"Well, if he doesn't apologize, she'll get angry either way." Laxus reasoned out. "But she should've answered 'im when he asked if he's not good enough or something like that shit. She could've said 'YES' and leave the guy and break up, and then Elf will be free again and HAPPY, you know. Less life problems."

"Laxus..." Freed sighed. "That's not a very helpful option if you want them to stay together-"

Laxus turned to his friend. "But think, man - when they accept the losses, that's two less frustrated people in the world."

"I agree with Papa." Bixlow said, already back to his game.

Freed looked at Laxus, who looked back at him with his _'What did I say now?'_ expression. Freed simply sighed. "Mama doesn't exactly agree with Papa's point."

Laxus huffed. "Give Papa some credit. He brought you chocolate fudge this morning."

Freed looked at him reproachfully. It wasn't fair that he used that card.

Bixlow whistled. "Is Papa gonna get some tonight?" - but before he could chuckle, both his companions had started to strangle him.

Finally, the door opened and their vocalist went in, raising one elegant eyebrow at the sight of the boys in a minor brawl again. "What happened now?"

"PAPA AND MAMA DON'T WANNA SHARE HONEYMOON DETAILS-... ARRRGGGGHH- LAXUS NOT MY GAME, MAN! GET IT UP TO A SAVE POINT BEFORE DESTROYING IT, PLEASE! DAAAADDDYYYYY-"

A few minutes later, as the guys were setting up their instruments, Freed was listening to Evergreen silently retelling a brief version of her latest spat with her boyfriend. He simply nodded when the story finished. It was the same as last time, and the fight before that, and the fight before the fight before that.

Really, it was always the same with Evergreen and Elfman. They fight, make up, stay alright for a few days (sometimes weeks), and then fight again, making up right after.

They don't even fight like married couples. They just fight like upset teenagers, and they were supposed to be adults: mature college students.

"Can we just start practice now?" Evergreen complained, eager to take her mind off things. She eyed Laxus still bullying Bixlow and sighed, turning to Freed. "Tell your husband and son to behave."

Freed simply cleared his throat and called out loudly: "Guys, we have ten songs planned today!"

Laxus gave Bixlow one last fake punch on the face before letting go of the guy as if to avoid being caught red-handed. Bixlow smiled toothily, twirling his drumsticks in his fingers innocently. Freed and Evergreen looked at their leader expectantly, and Laxus picked his guitar up.

"Okay, where do we start?"

* * *

In their highschool days, most of the student body looked up to their 'cool' senpai - the Raijinshuu. They were in a band, and they were good. They play regularly in local bars and restaurants, keep up respectable grades, and didn't rub their "awesomeness" on the other students' faces. Yes, Laxus may be a rough, tough delinquent with merciless language, Freed may be a bit too aloof for some people, Bixlow may be very childish and annoying and Evergreen may be cold and unapproachable, but they didn't act like the school belonged to them, didn't bully their kouhai and didn't think that being in a band was anything too 'special'. The Raijinshuu were the badass kids on their days, even being more adored than the sports clubs and the student council. Mirajane, back in her wild delinquent days, picked fights with them but they made sure to settle it outside school grounds or simply outside school hours.

Elfman, with Natsu, Gray and the other boys in their circle of friends, idolized the Raijinshuu very much. One thing has been very clear back then, though: Evergreen was single, available, but off-limits. She naturally gave off the air of a girl that was out of anyone's league. She was cruel most of the time, only keeping her greetings and statements polite enough not to be rude. Most of the boys were aware of this.

It was in a school trip that Elfman first really talked to the girl. There was an activity for the students where they all had to go by pairs. Freed and Bixlow volunteered to go first. Evergreen huffed, instintively turned to pull Laxus with her, but remembered that their leader didn't go with them on the trip after all. Freed and Bixlow had other friends - one of them could have gone with Evergreen while the other one went with another friend. The girl pouted. Yes, that should have been - but since the two were gone now, she had no choice but to go with someone else. She did a quick scan of the area. She knew most of these kids and had exchanged a word or two with them. Most of them were Laxus' little sister's friends.

She found one who didn't have a partner yet. "Elfman," she called out. The boy looked at her. She had never really talked with him before. "Do you have a partner yet?"

"Uh... N-no partner yet-"

"Let's go, then." she said, adjusting her glasses. Elfman looked around him - Natsu was paired up with Erza while Gray was arguing with Cana about their lunch or something. Most of his other friends were already in pairs. Some of the ones standing alone were very much familiar to him.

"M-Me?" he asked Evergreen again.

Evergreen raised an elegant eyebrow. "Who else? I called your name, right?"

Elfman wanted to turn her down. She asked so abruptly and he didn't really know her much, but he looked around and realized that nobody would want to go with her.

As a man, it would be rude to let a woman go alone when you're very much available to help her.

"Right. Sorry." he said, then walked towards her. He expected her to shove her bag towards him, demanding that he carry it. She didn't. So he held out a hand and asked, "I can carry your bag for you."

"No, thanks. It's not that heavy."

"But-"

"I can carry my own bag by myself. I've been doing it since the start of the trip. I wouldn't have brought this with me if I knew that I can't handle it. So shut up."

He still insisted, however, saying a dignified, "You're a woman, I was just trying to-"

"Being a woman is never an excuse to be someone else's burden."

He shut up. That was new.

And true - she proved that over the course of their trip.

A few months later, Elfman, to his friends' encouragements, sent her his first love letter. As per tradition, he told her he adored her and asked if she would kindly meet him after school. At first, the boys practically thought he was insane.

"Are you crazy? Evergreen? THAT Evergreen?!"

"Dude, we know she's beautiful and talented and smart and all of that is very very nice, but she treats everyone like shit."

"You're just blinded by the pretty, Elf. She has no friends. All she has is that band, and they're... no offense, but they're major league, and we... don't think you're quite ready for that."

"Have you ever seen her smile? Like, just a simple real smile?"

Elfman made a good point, though. That he just felt something GOOD about this one. He felt that Evergreen was not the all-too-cruel lady with the scary glare. He told the guys that he just wants to try. They were his bros - so they supported him anyways.

That afternoon, Elfman was left standing by the school backyard for three hours. Evergreen never came.

He waited the next day, too. And for three days more.

"Elf, she's not coming. We're sorry, man. Accept it. She's just out of your league right now."

"Are you really sure she got that letter?"

Neither Evergreen nor Elfman knew which of the boys told Bixlow, who quickly told Freed and Laxus. At band practice, the three looked at Evergreen with disappointed expressions.

"What did I do?" She asked, wondering why they were suddenly so hostile.

"You stood Elfman up." Freed answered bluntly. "You basically ignored one of the most honest, decent guys in the school. For FOUR days, Evergreen."

"I'm not interested." she simply answered.

"You should have heard him out, though." Bixlow said. He too looked really disappointed. "The poor guy must be heartbroken, thinkin' you hate him. You were really mean."

Evergreen protested, "Well, I don't want him for a boyfriend! I don't want to date him! He's always going on about being a man and stuff! I can't deal with that!"

"Still. You should have showed up." Freed sighed. "It's not fair that you do that to him."

"If I showed up, nothing would change. I still would've turned him down."

Freed kept up the argument: "But at least, he would've been able to see you and hear it from you directly. You could've told him that there was nothing wrong with him. That's it's just you."

"You stood 'im up. He must be feelin' like a failure! Must be thinkin' that you think somethin's wrong with 'im." Bixlow said. "And you really don't wanna date that guy? Don't you want flowers? Messages from him in your phone asking how you are? Someone to go with you to movie dates? Someone to walk 'ya home? Someone to propose to you and then you'll get married and have babies and I'll be their cool uncle while Freed and Laxus will be the gay uncles-"

The guy stopped abruptly as the "gay uncles" in question glared at him.

Evergreen shook her head, "Of course I want to date - someone... someday, somehow - but not him!"

That was when Laxus stood up and they all looked at him. Their leader looked at Evergreen with an unreadable expression on this face. "Listen to me." he started, stepping forward to come face to face with their only female member. "You're going to meet him today. After school."

Freed stepped forward. Laxus was ordering Evergreen in a tone so authorative that it sounded harsh. "Laxus-"

Laxus ignored the others and only focused on Evergreen. The young woman looked back at him with wide eyes. "If he's not there, you're going to The Strauss' and you're still talking to him."

"W-What-"

"You will apologize and tell him that he did nothing wrong. And you're going to answer him with either a _'yes'_ or a _'no',_ and then you will tell him _why."_

"But-"

"Evergreen." Laxus said with a tone of finality. He was their leader, and he made that point across right then and there. "I suggest you say _'yes',_ because you're lucky enough that someone grew to like you with your attitude like that. Now go do what I told you to because that guy might me the only guy crazy enough to fall for you. I, for one, know for myself that I'll never fall for someone as inconsiderate and bitchy as you."

Evergreen was in the verge of tears. Freed looked at their leader disbelievingly. "Laxus, that's going too far."

"No, I'm just saying the truth."

Bixlow and Freed watched as their vocalist slapped their guitarist hard across the face, and then walked out the room in tears.

Laxus shrugged, turning his back to the other two and sitting back down with his guitar. "She needed to hear that."

"Ever's not good at dealing with people-"

"Doesn't make a difference. Someone had to hand it to her one way or another." Laxus said gruffly, rubbing his stinging cheek a bit.

Bixlow scratched his head. "But man, the b-word? Really?"

"I'll tell her I'm sorry when she disproves it."

"You do know that you hit a really sore spot: telling a girl who likes you that you'll never fall for her. You know how she feels about you. Don't say _'no'_ - I know you're not as insensitive as she thinks you are." Freed said, sounding torn on whether or not to side with Laxus or Evergreen. He was devoted to Laxus, but he can see that Evergreen had been very upset with what she heard from the blonde.

"I told you," Laxus looked at his right-hand man. "She had to know. It's for her own good. It's just a little kick in the head from me and I hope it works."

The next day, when Evergreen showed up at their usual meeting place for band practice, the boys went quiet. They didn't know what to say. They knew that Evergreen went to Elfman that morning - Bixlow got it from one of his many "trusted sources".

Evergreen, however, stood her ground and directed her gaze to Laxus. "I don't regret slapping you, you know. I won't say sorry."

Laxus turned his back to her and shrugged. "I called you a bitch and you slapped me hard. Let's call it quits."

Their vocalist nodded. She simply sighed. "I told him to confess again in a few months. We have finals and entrance exams. I told him I had to focus on those first."

Freed asked softly. "Did he take that well?"

She nodded.

A few more months later, after the graduation ceremonies, Elfman asked Evergreen again. She reluctantly said _'yes'._

They had struggled ever since.

* * *

"You have communication problems." Cana said, after drinking a tall glass of beer bottoms up. She slammed the beer in front of a distressed Elfman, who looked beside him for help, but Gray was busy texting.

"But we always talk-"

"About what?" Cana confronted. "Do you know her favorites, likes and dislikes? Her mood swings? Her schedule and her friends?"

"Cana, they're not _that _worse off, I'm sure." Lucy said, stirring her glass of iced tea absently. She happened to stop by The Strauss' after doing some grocery-shopping with Loke, found Gray, Cana and Elfman sitting together, and promptly joined them.

Cana shrugged. "Gray thought he and Juvia weren't that worse off until he started falling really in love and became a puppy who wants all her attentio-"

Gray quickly pushed his still-full glass of beer towards the brunette. "Here, drink some more."

Cana wordlessly took the drink and started gulping it down right away.

Gray looked at his companions, who were looking at him curiously. "She's just drunk."

"Yeah, right." Loke chimed in, carrying two plates of dinner. He set down one plate on his space on the table and the other in front of Lucy, who thanked him with a bright smile. "But Elfman, when did you last talk to your girl?"

"Last I heard of her was... well, she was telling me to get out of her sight because she never wants to see me ever again..."

"Ouch..." was the collective reaction of his friends.

"Did you know why she was upset?"

"No."

"Did you do anything wrong?"

"Not that I know of, but-"

"But," Gray cut them off. "For every male action, there is a female overreaction, so-" - he stopped when Lucy's eyes narrowed at him - "Wait, I'm not generalizing, Lucy." The blonde rolled her eyes and went back to her food. "So, as I was saying, Evergreen's very blunt, we all know that. She should've told you what you did wrong right away."

Loke nodded. "If she hasn't told you anything you did wrong, I think she... well, she simply can't say it. It's either you did something very wrong she can't handle it, or she's upset for a different reason."

"I have a problem with that." Cana said, slamming her glass on the table again. "Not taking sides here, but how would you know if it's not Evergreen that did something wrong? We've been bearing with the two of you for two friggin' years."

"Yes. I know we're supposed to take her side, 'cause she's a girl and all..." Lucy started, smiling guiltily. "But Elfman, you're a really good guy, so if you're sure you're not doing anything wrong, you should stop feeling guilty all the time. You should ask her too. Us girls are not always right."

When she looked at them, she found the boys looking at her as if she was heaven-sent, while Cana was trying her best not to laugh out loud.

"Lucy, I love you." Loke declared, staring at his mistress with sparkling, teary eyes.

"What he said." Elfman nodded.

"Same." Gray sighed.

"WHAT DID I DO?!" Lucy practically screamed, looking at her friends.

"You're a girl and you actually admitted that you can be wrong." Loke sniffed.

Gray poked at his food numbly. "Natsu's a lucky bastard." He quickly avoided the incoming punch from Lucy and mouthed, _'Whaaaat?'_ at the blonde.

Cana laughed loudly and rowdily hit Elfman on the back repeatedly. "You should've looked for a girl like Lucy, ya know! She totally explained my point! Maybe it's Evergreen's fault after all!"

"And it's hard to apologize, so maybe that's why she's upset?" Loke said. "Really, all you guys need is just a simple, open talk. How do you make up with each other on the other times this happened?"

"Well, I apologize and then we text each other if everything's alright, and of course we reply with _'yes'._ Then we're alright again."

"That's very vague. And you never even get to know why you fought in the first place?"

"We figured it's just our differences. You know, me saying a wrong word, or voicing out an opinion or something, forgetting something important, me being inconsiderate when she's specially moody... those kinds of things."

"You've already apologized this time, right?" Lucy asked.

"She got angrier." Gray explained for their benefit. "Told you guys, she's a terror."

"Hey." Elfman frowned. "She's not always like that. Her laugh sounds really good, you know. She loves all these sorts of books and she looks really adorable when she's focused on her favorite ones. She re-reads them when she has time. She's also a very good cook, although she doesn't like preparing desserts. She's really kind when she wants to - one time she adopted six stray kittens at the same time. When I told her it made me remember Lisanna, she smiled and listened to me being all gloomy. She's funny, too. She jokes around a lot when we're together-"

"I can't imagine Evergreen joking. I can just imagine her laughing like an evil witch." Gray pouted, looking at his friend. "No offense."

"She laughs like that, too, but that's when she's happy with a prank pulled successfully on Bixlow."

Lucy laughed. "She pulls pranks?"

"My girlfriend is not a heartless rock." Elfman insisted.

"Yeah." Cana shrugged. "Laxus, Freed and Bixlow won't be friends with her if she was. I've known Laxus since I was a kid. He picks his friends carefully, and Evergreen's, like, his head girl."

"I just really want her to not be upset now." Elfman said.

"No proper boyfriend wants his girl to be upset." Loke nodded. "But sometimes you really have to tell her that you don't think you're at fault."

"When are you going to see her again?" Lucy asked.

Elfman looked down. "Raijinshuu's playing tomorrow. I'll be waiting tables. It won't do if we ignore each other, so I really want us to make up by then."

"We'll be watching, then." Lucy said, smiling slyly, then turned to Gray. "Right, Gray?"

Gray blinked. "What? Why me? I have work-"

"Elfman needs his wingman." Lucy said.

"Ask Natsu." Gray retorted. "Tell him you'll watch Raijinshuu play. Tell him you WANT to watch them play. He won't say _'no'_ to that. He gives you everything."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Prompted, Cana quickly turned to Elfman. "By the way, Elf - the bets have updates. There are some new stuff on the pool."

Elfman looked at her, distracted. "Really? What's new?"

"Oh, they're not even hiding it anymore." Loke chuckled, patting his mistress on the head when Lucy buried her face in her hands in defeat.

* * *

The band was on the sixth song on their setlist for the rehearsals when, just several beats into the intro, Evergreen felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She quickly lifted her hands from the keyboard and that got her bandmates' attention. They stared at her as she checked her phone.

"It's him."

"Answer it." - was a chorus among the three guys.

Evergreen glared at them.

They merely stared back unperturbed.

Evergreen shook her head and pressed the answer button. She quickly said, "I'm on band practice. Call later." and hung up.

Her bandmates looked at her disbelievingly.

"That's the same fucking thing as hanging up." Laxus said.

Bixlow quickly added, "And that was so mean!"

"And very inconsiderate." Freed backed his friends up. "He didn't do anything wrong, why give him the cold shoulder when you're supposed to be apologizing?"

"We were practicing!" Evergreen insisted.

"We'll still be here after you talk to him on the phone." Freed said, very obviously scolding the brunette.

"We'll still be here _while _you talk to him on the phone." Laxus said then, crossing his arms across his chest. "Evergreen-"

Ever stepped back. "No, you're not berating me again. You did this long ago too. Save it, La-"

"Pick up your phone and call him. Now." Laxus ordered. He remembered doing this long ago. He got slapped across the face but it ended up all well...

Evergreen glared hard at him as she did what he said. She put her phone by her ear as she waited for a pick-up.

"He picked up." she said lowly, eyeing her friends with her _'Are you all happy now?'_ expression. "Elfman." she addressed the person on the other end softly.

_[ 'Ever. Uh, listen-' ]_

"Ask him how he's doing." Laxus dictated. Freed moved to stop him, but he raised a hand to indicate that he knew what he was doing.

Evergreen complied, but her stare indicated that once Laxus goes too far, he was going to get a slap in the face again. "How are you doing?"

_[ 'I'm fine, I have something to tell you...' ]_

Evergreen sighed. "You've already said you're sorry. I'm not deaf-"

_[ 'I didn't call to apologize again.' ]_

The rest of the band looked on as Evergreen paused and looked down, pursing her lips. She furrowed her brows and whispered a silent, "Excuse me." and then went out the room.

* * *

"I just..." Elfman started, considering his words carefully. Everybody told him to just talk to her. He had never done this before. It was a miracle they lasted this long without exploding on each other. "I just want to ask you something..."

_[ 'What is it?' ]_ - her voice was softer than usual, he noticed.

He was sitting on a stool in The Strauss' kitchen. The only other person in the room was Kinana, who was silently washing dishes. He glanced at her and the girl was focused on her work. Kinana was a good girl, he knew - she respected privacy. Encouraged that he had a good chance of trying to get things right, Elfman went on. "Was I right to apologize?"

She did not answer.

"I mean, I said _'sorry'_ on instinct, and I didn't even know why you got mad at me in the first place. I just realized that half the time we were together I don't know what I'm sayin' 'sorry' for."

He didn't know if it was just her voice over the phone, but he thought he heard a little shake in her reply,_ [ 'Really?' ]_

"Yeah."

_[ 'Why do you keep doing it then?' ]_

"Because... well, you're smart and sensitive and quick and... and I'm slow and stupid and dense, and I always thought that if one of us is gonna do something wrong, it'll be me for sure."

_[ 'So you just always automatically thought you're wrong because I happen to always be right?' ]_

"Kinda."

_[ 'You really are stupid, huh.' ]_

"I know. You're always so perfect-"

_[ 'Who told you that?' ]_

"...W-What?"

_[ 'Who told you that I'm perfect?' ]_

"I... I just saw it, I guess. Because I always thought you were cold and mean, but when we're together, you laugh and cry and smile and you know exactly what you want... and how you want it and-... Shit, I'm saying too much, but I swear, I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I asked you out. It was a hunch. You were pretty and mysterious and smart, and that's about all that I would want in a girl, then in two years, I learned that you have a heart after all, and it's really frustrating how much I got to know you but how closed up you still are and I don't know why you get so upset everytime I try to tell you how wonderful you're being-"

_[ 'You're rambling.' ]_

"I know but-"

_[ 'Thanks. For thinking I'm wonderful and all that, but-' ]_

"Ever, I just-... Please tell me what I did-"

_[ 'It's me.' ]_ - he heard her say that as if she was also surprised at what she was saying._ [ 'It's just me, Elf. I'm not as perfect as you see me, and you frustrate me too, and that's why I get mad-' ]_

"W-What? Why-"

_[ 'Because I'm always alright by myself, but being with you makes me want to change, because I'm cold and insensitive and I always think that if I have enough of some things, I'll be okay.' ]_

"I'm sorry-"

_[ 'There you go, apologizing when it isn't your fault. Have more backbone, will you? You always say you're a man. And you are. And you're not stupid, you're sweet and everything, but I have to change so much to make you happy, to make myself feel actually good enough for you! And I'm finding it so hard to care about more people, talk to more people, actually HELP people I don't really know - that's what you do. You know so many people and you feel so much and you live around so much life and I screw up in those departments-' ]_

"Ever-"

_[ 'Let me finish!' ]_ - a pause -_ [ 'I've always been okay with the boys, but you came and I feel like all of a sudden, I'm not good enough for anyone.' ]_ - and then it happened. Elfman heard her voice break, and he thought he heard her sniff a bit. _[ 'Because you're doing so well. So when I screw up at NOT being a cruel, heartless bitch, I get upset - and you apologize - and I can't admit that I'm the one responsible. You know why? Because I'm so insecure... I always think that the moment I screw up, the moment you realize that I'm not the perfect girl you always see me as, you'll leave me. And right now I know that I can only say these things because you're not in front of me. I can't do that. I suck so much at telling people how I feel, and I...' ]_

Elfman did not know what to say to that. He'd been so silent that even Kinana had glanced worriedly at him.

He listened to the sound of Evergreen trying to talk shakily, stiffling her sobs.

_[ 'I know that I'm never going to find someone else who will like me like you do, even when I have to try so hard to be what you think of me to be. Because I'm lucky enough that you liked me in the first place.' ]_

"Why didn't you tell me I was making everything so hard for you?"

_[ 'Because you make wanting to try hard easy, and I thought I could do it. Until I couldn't, and I get so upset at myself for making you take the blame every single time. I hate myself so much but I don't want you to know WHY, because I was afraid... and... and...' ]_

She trailed out there, and Elfman sat alone. When did Kinana leave? He didn't even notice. He was thinking about all the times they fought. When were the times that he actually did something wrong? When were the times that she was pretending to be cold and strong when actually she was struggling because she thought that she was ruining everything?

Why had he not noticed before?

After summoning up enough courage to speak again, Elfman asked, "You think I will love you less just because of that?"

_[ 'Yes!' ]_

"But... But I won't."

_[ 'I know.' ]_

"So why do you still feel so bad?"

_[ 'Because I always forget. Because I'm selfish and I think of myself first and I end up not trusting you to accept me just the same-' ]_

"When you forget, you can just ask." he said, cutting her off quickly. "I'll always answer. I can be dumb, but if you ask me if I still love you, I'll always know what to answer."

He heard a guilty but relieved chuckle from the other end. _[ '...Thanks. That's why I love you, you know?' ]_

That was all they both needed. Elfman realized with a sigh that they had been keeping so many things from each other ever since they started trying to make the relationship work.

"You're always welcome." Elfman said, scratching his head sheepishly. That was the first time that he heard such honesty from her. The was the first time, in two years, that he heard the words straight from her lips.

_[ 'Crap, you really made me say all of it.' ]_ Evergreen was, for some reason, laughing over the phone. Elfman simply smiled to himself and chuckled. _[ 'Are we okay now?' ]_

And for the first time in their relationship, Elfman heard that question directed at him. It took them two years to really know each other better - '_But_', he thought,_ 'Better late than never.'_

Elfman never knew that such relief could come from answering, "Of course we are."

Evergreen never knew that it felt so good - so.,. alright - to hear that answer from someone.

* * *

Evergreen came back gripping her phone in one hand and trying to wipe her tears with the other.

The boys looked at her.

"Can... can someone hand me my bag? My hanky's in there." she asked, standing sheepishly by the doorway.

"Are you okay?" Freed asked tentatively.

"We're okay." she said, smiling lightly.

"To hell with your bag." Bixlow said bluntly, then stretched his arms wide and said, "C'mere."

Evergreen was a sobbing mess the moment she crashed herself in the drummer's arms and hugged him back. Laxus scratched his head and Freed chuckled lightly as Evergreen buried her head on Bixlow's shoulder. After a few moments of sobbing, the brunette reached out a hand to grab Freed by the arm and pull him into the hug.

"Holy shit, you guys look so lame." Laxus said, looking at his band huddled in a dramatic three-way hug. When they laughed at him and huddled closer together, he exclaimed, "Stop that!"

"You know you want to." Bixlow chimed. "C'mon, Papa." Freed looked at him with a small amused smile, and Evergreen with a grateful grin.

"No way. In absolute hell."

He got tackled.

* * *

"This is our last song for the night." the brown-haired vocalist of Raijinshuu announced as the band stood on the small stage of The Strauss'. "We want to thank everyone who came to see us. We can see familiar faces around and we're very happy that you like our music."

There was a special drumroll from Bixlow to accent the end of her statement.

"Now, I don't usually dedicate my performances to anyone..." she started, wringing her hands nervously, stretching her fingers for one last round on the keyboard. "But this one is for my boyfriend."

There were some wolf-howls and whistles from their audience, along with a lone shout of "YOU GO, ELF!"

By the bar, and beside his giggling sister, Elfman groaned and made a mental note to maybe kick Natsu on the head before he leaves with Lucy and Loke. Cana, who was standing on the other side of the bar, by one of the tables, caught his eye as she gave him a thumbs up before drinking her usual beer. Lucy, somewhere in one of the tables, had gagged Natsu to stop the guy from shouting some more.

"Elfman," Evergreen said softly to her microphone. "I was being a horrible bitch these past few days. I'm sorry, and thanks for bearing with that."

A collective _'Awwwww'_ was heard from the bar's patrons.

"So here goes." she said, before her fingers hit her keyboard softly. The crowd held their breath as the rest of the band stood back and let their vocalist sing the last song alone with just her keyboard.

Raijinshuu was a punk and rock band, and the audience weren't used to a rock-and-ballad piano solo by their usually soft-spoken vocalist.

As he listened to the brunette's lovely voice, Elfman felt warm arms wrap around him from behind and looked down to see his sister looking at the singer on the stage with a small fond smile.

"You okay now, little brother?" Mira asked, only loud enough to be heard above the music.

"We'll be." Elfman answered, placing a hand on top of his sister's. "Thanks for not fussing over, nee-chan."

"Aw, I know you can take it. You're a big man." Mirajane smiled, giving his brother a little squeeze. "Taking care of a wonderful woman."

Elfman smiled back. "Yeah, I am."

.

.

.

**A/N: **I'm very much like Evergreen in a way that I can be one of the boys and still proud of my skirts. Except I'm the one lecturing the boys on their life choices. There will be a chapter on Bix, Laxus and Freed too. And if you can't already tell, I ship Fraxus like BURNING~!

If you think that's long, then let me tell you that the Gajeel chapter is 17k words. But first...

**Coming up next:  
"Macao is Still a Better Dad Than Lucy's"**

It's Macao! I didn't expect to write something for him, but it happened.  
And be prepared because Natsu and Lucy are talking about babies.

Also it's coming next week. Promise!


	12. Track 12: Water and Bridges

**A/N: **As promised, here's the new chapter! Well, we've got our third dad now - dun dun dun! Macao! Damn, the kids in Fairy Tail all had daddy issues one time or another, huh.

I've always wanted to have a chapter that kinda parallels Gildarts' in a different way. This time we have Macao. He's an underappreciated guy, I think - he's a mentor to the kids and you had to respect how hard he worked to keep the guild still standing during his tenure as master in the 7-year timeskip. This man will always have a special place in my heart because the mission to save him was the first mission that Natsu, Lucy and Happy took as a team. So I decided to give Natsu and Lucy a significant role here.

So there ya go. This chapter is Macao having son issues. And Natsu and Lucy being their dork selves again.

And Romeo. And of course, sweet sweet Wendy.

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 12: Water and Bridges  
**..aka "Macao is Still a Better Dad Than Lucy's"

_"And that's the sign of a solemn man_  
_I'll make the best of the best I can_  
_and I'll be better for it if I ever get my chance"  
_- Dashboard Confessional

.

The Fire Dragon was having an easy afternoon. Customers were yet to flood in and the ones who came in have already had their orders served. Igneel was resting behind the cashier when the restaurant door opened and two middle school students came in.

"Igneel!" Romeo called out, walking straight towards the counter. Wendy silently trailed after the boy.

"Yo, Romeo!" Igneel greeted with his usual friendly grin. "And you have Wendy-chan with you." he added as the girl bowed politely. "I must say... been a long time since you used the front door."

Romeo scratched his head. "Well, I didn't know if I'm allowed to sneak Wendy in through the back door..."

Igneel snorted, reaching out to pat the girl on the head. "Of course you could! What harm could Wendy-chan possibly do, ne?"

"Igneel-san..." Wendy started, blushing.

Igneel simply smiled reassuringly. "So, what can I do for the two of you? Hungry?"

"Ah, no." Romeo replied. "Is Natsu in? Lucy-nee said he's replacing dad this afternoon."

"Natsu's in the kitchen." the man answered. "Go ahead, both of you. Just don't disturb my cooks that much, alright?"

"Hai!" the students answered obediently before Romeo led Wendy with him to the restaurant's kitchen. The girl was looking all around her curiously. It was her first time seeing a restaurant's behind-the-scenes, after all.

They found Natsu focused on cooking along with the other regular cooks. He was frying something and maybe adding too much hot sauce...

"Natsu-san looks so different when he's cooking..." Wendy whispered.

"Yep." Romeo nodded. "Guess we can't bother him right now."

"Oi, Romeo and Wendy!" Natsu called then, finally noticing the kids. He gave them his friendly grin. "What's up?"

Romeo stepped forward sheepishly. "Kite update, but take your time. Don't wanna bother you."

"Right. Lemme finish this one! Five minutes." Natsu said, going back to his work. He finished the dish within the promised five minutes and passed it to Cana to be served. He checked the queue shortly and, finding nothing for him, he headed for his visitors. "How'd you guys know I'm here?"

"We asked Lucy-nee." Romeo answered. "She was going home with Loke."

"Yeah, she's been busy with the cheerleaders." Natsu said, pouting. "And she always goes home late. Happy misses her already."

Romeo raised an eyebrow while Wendy contained her giggles. "Just go see her after your shift, then. We have news about our kite!"

Over the past few weeks, Natsu had become the unofficial "coach" for the Romeo-Wendy duo. When neither Mysto nor Jellal had given the kids helpful advice (it turned out that a kite-flying contest was a first for the twins as well), Natsu had stepped in and acted as their adviser. Romeo was glad that he was going to be working with Natsu again even though they weren't partners. Wendy, on the other hand, has been treating Natsu like her third big brother already and was always thrilled to listen to the pink-head's input on their little project.

Romeo and Wendy took turns in telling Natsu what they had to say, while Natsu simply looked at both of them and nodded, amused that they were very excited about the contest. The contest was going to be held on the following week, after all.

"...and so we're thinking it'll be ready for a trial flight tomorrow afternoon!"

"Cool." Natsu nodded, grinning as usual. "I think I can be there. Just get it prepped tonight and we'll fly it tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay!" both nodded again, like little soldiers prepared for command.

"We gotta go now." Romeo said looking at Wendy, who nodded. "We still have homework to do, and then we're prepping the kite."

"See you tomorrow, Natsu-san!" Wendy said, bowing.

"Yeah, see you guys!" Natsu said, watching the middle schoolers go back to the counter to say their goodbyes to Igneel. After a moment of watching them, he remembered something, and called out, "Oi, Romeo!"

Both middle school students turned to look back at him. "Yeah?" Romeo asked.

"Where are you going to have dinner tonight?" Natsu asked. He quickly excused himself from the kitchen and walked towards them, leading them to Igneel. "Macao's out of town and I think Igneel's staying here until late."

"I am." Igneel answered, looking at the kids, then turning to his son. "Your shift ends in an hour, Natsu. You and Romeo can eat together."

"I was thinking of going to see Lucy though..." Natsu scratched his head. An idea hit him and then he looked at Romeo. "Ah! I'll cook for you right now and you take it home! What d'you say, bro?"

Romeo shook his head fervently. "No, you shouldn't bother! I'm sure I can find some stuff to eat at home-"

"Romeo-kun can join us for dinner." Wendy quickly offered. "If... If it's alright with Romeo-kun, that is..."

"Of course it's alright! But... I'll be a bother-"

"I'm sure mom won't mind." Wendy insisted.

Igneel nodded. "And I'm sure Grandine would ask you to join them if she knew that you're home alone." He looked at Wendy. "Please take care of Romeo, Wendy-chan."

"Hai." Wendy smiled, nodding obediently.

"Well, okay..." Romeo shrugged, having no choice. "But I can just make something myself. I'll be okay alone, you guys-"

"No, you won't." Natsu and Igneel said, at the same time.

Igneel sniggered. "Remember how you broke the stove last time you tried?"

Romeo blushed in embarrassment, then rolled his eyes. "That was a year ago! Geez!"

"Romeo-kun broke the stove?" Wendy blinked.

"It was an accident!" the boy groaned.

Igneel grinned slyly. "I'll tell you the story, Wendy-cha-"

"NO YOU WON'T!" Romeo quickly cut off, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and proceeding to pull her towards the front door. "Let's go, Wendy!"

"But-"

"I'll tell you myself!"

"O-Okay... Bye, Igneel-san! Natsu-san!" the girl gave the Dragneels one last wave before the kids closed the restaurant door behind them.

Igneel chuckled before turning to look at his son, who was sniggering at Romeo's apparent embarassment. "So, Natsu..."

Natsu blinked curiously at his father's tone. "Yeah?"

Igneel grinned, eyeing his son from the side. "Lucy, huh?"

"Well..." Natsu shrugged. "I'll just... drop by to see her."

"But you saw her at school a while ago."

"I didn't get to go home with her."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And she hasn't been eating dinner with us for a while now."

"Really?"

"And on lunch and breaks, she's always with Levy or Erza or the cheerleaders."

Igneel nodded. "...and?"

"Fine, I want to hang out with her 'cause I haven't done that in ages because she's always so busy." Natsu crossed his arms across his chest.

Igneel chortled, looking at his son's sulking expression. "Son, do you hear yourself?"

Natsu narrowed his eyes at his father and grunted. "Yeah, I do." - and before Igneel could speak further, Natsu huffed at him knowingly. "No. Not helping you win the bets."

Igneel pouted. "But what about a hint for dear daddy?"

"Nope."

"C'mon, Natsu! If I win, I'm sharing it with you, so gimme a clue."

It was Natsu's turn to grin slyly. "No way."

Igneel groaned. "We're all underestimating you, aren't we?"

Natsu's grin simply grew wider before he walked back to the kitchen, whistling happily.

"We all think he's dense." Igneel mumbled grudgingly, but he couldn't help a smug smile from creeping on his face. "But he knows what he's doing."

* * *

Romeo came home to an empty house. The boy turned the lights on and did a quick check - the house was presentable. Not too neat and not too messy - both Romeo and Macao were always out, so what neglect they had on the chores was covered up by the fact that they don't spend all that much time at home. Romeo picked up several random, misplaced items - a discarded shirt by a dining chair, a pair of indoor slippers under the couch, some toy cars in a corner, a sock that must have fallen on the way to the laundry, old reference books used for one of Romeo's school projects days ago still stacked by the coffee table - and put them in place before heading for the bath.

After taking a quick shower, Romeo went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He looked at the post-it on the fridge again:

_'I probably won't be back until tomorrow morning, so take care of yourself.  
- Dad'_

Nowadays, Romeo felt really distant from his father. Macao was a busy man, yes. He has a full-time job in The Fire Dragon as head cook and in its peak days, he can't help but go on overtime. When he was not too tired from work, instead of heading home, he simply goes to The Strauss to drink with Wakaba and Gildarts. Romeo also knew that Macao has been seeing women at times. They have a typical divorced parent and child relationship, although they were more content than most families.. Romeo kept in constant contact with his mother, but she was overseas and has her own family. After years of being with his dad, no matter how often Macao was absent, Romeo still preferred not to bother his mom.

Aside from being head cook, Igneel also trusted Macao with some business stuff that Romeo knew simply involved buying ingredients from suppliers. Whenever his dad went on business trips, Romeo never really got worried or sad. He was used to feeling alone in the house. Besides, nowadays he had friends to hang out with after school and chat with while doing homework. There was also the internet and he had a PC in his room. When Macao was staying in the restaurant until late, Natsu or Igneel made sure that the boy came over for dinner. Sometimes they watched movies or played games when Natsu was feeling like it. The past few weeks' afternoons were spent mostly with Wendy and her brothers, making the kite. On weekends, he simply wandered around town hanging around his makeshift older siblings or lazed around reading manga and playing video games like any normal boy his age.

Romeo simply shrugged off the empty atmosphere of the house. He was used to it. He went upstairs to his room to unpack his schoolbag and assess his homework for the night. After a few minutes, he heard the doorbell.

Romeo opened his room's window and saw Wendy standing by the gate.

The girl smiled as she looked up at him. "Dinner's ready, Romeo-kun."

"Ah, coming! Gimme a minute!" he said, quickly closing his window and standing up. He already had a girl pick him up. He better not make her wait.

He was welcomed warmly by Grandine and the twins when he came in. By then, they were all already used to his presence in their home. The dinner was lively and consisted mostly of Wendy and Mystogan, as usual, picking at Jellal.

Romeo really was okay with his father being busy or out or away. He knew many people and he enjoyed their company.

However, that never changed the fact that he still always went home to an empty house.

* * *

When Romeo woke up the next morning, the house was still quiet. He briefly wondered if his father has arrived at all. Macao usually never missed making even the simplest of breakfasts. He may miss making his son's packed lunch because of fatigue, but he always made sure to make the first meal of the day.

Romeo didn't hear any noise from the kitchen so he simply sighed - he would have to go with the usual bread, butter and milk for breakfast.

When he went out his room, though, the boy heard some noises from his father's room. He was about to walk towards his father's room when the door opened and Macao stumbled out, barely catching himself and thankfully managing to hold on to the doorframe.

"Ah, Romeo. You're awake." - Macao said, voice hoarse, face red and sweating. He coughed, then got out a handkerchief and blew on it.

"Dad?" Romeo raised an eyebrow. "Are you... alright?"

"Just cough and colds." Macao reassured, although he blew on the handkerchief quite loudly again. "Can't go to work or cook for you today, son. I just called Igneel. Natsu said he's gonna cook extra for you, so head on over next door and eat breakfast, will ya?"

"Okay..." Romeo nodded slowly, taking in the sight of his sick father. Macao was a very healthy man and Romeo haven't seen him sick besides the occasional headaches. "What about you?"

"I can make a simple soup for me. I'll be alright. You have school today, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

Macao dismissively waved a hand. "This is nothin' I can't handle. You'll be late."

"Are you sure? Uh... need me to buy anything for you later or something-"

"I'll be okay, son." Macao smiled reassuringly. "Just get going."

Romeo sighed, scratching his head. If he was to be honest with himself, he really didn't know how to take care of a sick person.

Hesitantly, he simply obeyed his father's instructions. After grabbing a quick breakfast from the Dragneels, Romeo quickly went back home, changed into his uniform and got ready for school. His father was on the dining room, groggily waiting for his instant noodles to get ready. Romeo slung his bag over his shoulder and looked at his father before going out.

"Dad?"

Macao, who had almost dozed off at the table, sat up and looked at the boy. "Uh, yes?"

"I'm going. You sure you don't want me to get anything for you?"

"No, just go on." Macao nodded. "I'll be, uh... here."

"Okay." Romeo answered, tentatively.

They heard a call outside: "Romeo-kun, are you there?" Recognizing Wendy's familiar voice, the boy moved to leave.

"So, I'm... uh... going. Bye."

"Take care." Macao said, smiling slightly as his son went out the house. He looked down at his noodles and rubbed his temples. The headache has gotten worse. It looks like he has to check their medicine cabinet, after all.

* * *

By the afternoon, Macao was feeling much better. He had informed Igneel that he was taking the day off. So when he got to moving around the house alone, he took it upon himself to clean up.

There were the usual stuff to clean - some clothes left from the laundry, old food in the fridge, stray toys, newspapers, manga and school stuff scattered in some places. He cleaned that up first, then got to the cupboards. They were pretty much well-stocked, but Macao knew that it was only because he always ate out and Romeo always ate dinner with friends or the Dragneels. When Macao had enough time to cook more food in the morning, it usually went in the fridge for Romeo to microwave it for dinner.

Next, he went upstairs and headed for Romeo's room first. Toys, manga, magazines, school supplies and textbooks... Macao then wondered: when was the last time he was in his son's room? He always did a quick glance every now and then to check if the kid was keeping his room presentable. Romeo always assured his father that he cleans up regularly, too. It was when Macao really took a good long look at the room that he first realized just how much the room has changed. He first tallied the familiar things: the model planes suspended from the ceiling, which still had the glow-in-the-dark stars and planets stickers, the old toy cars and robots on the toy shelf, old school textbooks, the bedsheets and pillows, and the study desk. Then, Macao tallied the new things: there were posters on the walls, more manga and magazines on the shelves, more photos, movie tickets and the occassional fliers/handouts from school on the corkboard by the desk. The toys were neater, as were the clothes. There were some notebooks and an action figure acting as a paperweight for some school papers by the computer. Romeo was clumsy and messy most times, but the boy cleaned up regularly and when he did so, he cleaned up well.

Macao had a lot to be thankful for. Romeo was a good kid - the boy gets into occasional fights sometimes, but what normal teenage boy doesn't? And even though Macao was always away, Romeo had a lot of other people - decent and kind and welcoming - for company.

It struck him that he didn't know half of the people in Romeo's class photos, that he wasn't familiar with the bands or anime characters in the posters, and that he didn't know how much manga his son had been collecting.

Macao took a look around the room again, smiling lightly but guiltily and crossing his arms across his chest. There was nothing for him to clean up, and so he had no reason to be in his son's room.

Half of him felt like he was in the room of a stranger, so he simply went out and headed for his own room. Maybe he should clean up, too.

* * *

"Tadaima!" Romeo called out as he arrived home that late afternoon. "Dad? You still sick?" There was no answer. The boy frowned and changed into his slippers before heading straight upstairs. On his way, he noted that he was right to assume that his father wouldn't be in the kitchen or the living room. Romeo walked towards his father's room.

The door was ajar, so he knocked a few times before taking a peek on the room.

Macao was lying in his bed peacefully asleep. There was a broom on one side of the room and Romeo simply assumed that his father got tired because of cleaning and promptly decided to take a nap.

Romeo took it upon himself to walk towards the bed and put a hand on the man's forehead. His temperature felt normal. His face wasn't flushed anymore, too. Shrugging, and assured that his dad was feeling better albeit tired, Romeo went out the room to change. He was going to Wendy's to prepare the kite for their test flight with Natsu.

Romeo closed the door behind him.

A few minutes later, a shout from outside woke Macao up with a start. The man sat up in his bed, alert.

"You're moving out?! What did he do?!" - he heard Natsu's familiar voice from next door, drifting through his open window. Macao parted the curtains a bit to see Natsu's bedroom window wide open. Natsu and Lucy were sitting face to face on the windowsill, neither teens noticing him.

Macao sighed. Teenagers. He moved to close his window, not wanting to intrude or eavesdrop on the conversation.

He heard Lucy reply, "No, dad didn't really do anything..."

That made Macao pause. What was it about Lucy's dad? What was it that made Natsu sound so furious?

"I don't believe you. What did he do? What did he say?"

"Fine." A sigh. "Remember that one time I went with you guys to the arcade?"

"What, when Tattoo-face came with us?"

"Yeah."

"What about it?"

"Well, dad knew about it. I don't know how, but he knew and he didn't like that I'm - I quote - wasting my time with delinquents, not caring about my grades or my future or who I am - unquote - you know, the usual 'you-are-Lucy-Heartfilia' tirade..."

"Yeah, and?"

"The usual. Shouting at each other and arguing and he's telling me that I'm throwing my life away for some good-for-nothing so-called friends. Basically he doesn't like you guys, or what I'm doing. And I shouted at him and told him that he's not being a father by being away all the time and never asking what I'm doing, and when he does know what I'm doing, he gets so mad even if he doesn't know much about it. I told him that he doesn't know you guys, and that you're my friends and you're not delinquents..." - another sigh - "It was a long argument, okay?"

"Did you cry again?"

"A bit. We've had worse bouts. Besides, Loke and Virgo were there for me. Really, though. I can take him shouting at me to focus on my studies and whatnot, but when he got to insulting you guys, I just thought that... well, you know, he wouldn't have said all those horrible things about our friends, he would have known that I have perfectly good friends, if only he asked me about you guys sometimes. If only I had the chance to talk to him without him driving me away because he has work to do..."

Lucy smiled when Natsu looked down and held her hands in his. It was his way of comforting her, always.

She continued, "If only we were together more often and he knew more about me other than the fact that I'm his useless daughter."

Natsu's voice turned considerably softer. "Luce..."

"So, I'm moving out. I got a unit in the same complex as Juvia's-"

"Y'know that if you asked us, me and Igneel can clear up the spare room and give it to you, right?"

"I know that. Thanks a lot, but I have to do this on my own - prove to him that I'm not useless and I can survive without him."

"How?"

She chuckled. "Natsu, didn't you notice that I haven't gone on my usual shopping sprees in months? I've been saving up for a while now. With an allowance like mine, I've saved up a lot. I got the rent for the first three months covered. By then I just have to look for a steady part-time job. Gray already told me he'd help me look for a good job. I can't stay with you and Igneel, not when Loke, Virgo and Aries are paranoid and will probably barge in to ask about my well-being every hour. We'll be too much trouble."

"They're going with you?"

"To be honest, the only thing holding me back from moving out was the fact that those three might lose their jobs. But we've settled it - Loke still has his old condo and he can go back to working in the Pegasus anytime he wants. You know how he is."

Natsu sniggered. "Bob-san loves him anyways."

Lucy nodded. "And if his sisters get fired, he told me they can stay with him. Loke assured me they'll be alright and he can find them jobs in no time. I feel bad about leaving them, but I just think... I think that not being in that house will be better for me."

"You really can't take it anymore, huh?"

"Being there reminds me every time that dad has never really... cared... about me. He's never there, and when he is, he just looks at me and tells me to be better. He cares about my grades, and what I'm doing, but he never asked me if I'm really happy..."

There was silence for a few moments.

"It's just... different, you know. My dad actually being there and talking to me like I'm a human, not his heartless robot daughter. But who am I kidding? I don't remember him doing that, not since mom died."

That seemed to hit home on Macao: hearing Lucy's soft, sad voice talking about an absentee father who never really tried knowing his daughter.

He never reprimanded Romeo about his friends mostly because he knew them, but he was always at work, out drinking with his friends, or seeing some women. While he asked Romeo about how the kid was doing now and then, he simply accepted simple answers.

_"I'm good. It's almost finals. I'm studying."_

_"Good. I just hung out the laundry to dry, by the way."_

_"I'm fine. I'm going out with my friends tomorrow."_

_"I'm having a hard time with my math homework, but I think Levy-nee is online and I could ask her a bit..."_

Macao didn't think of it before, but he could have asked some more. Romeo's answers were always withdrawn, as if the kid thought that his dad will be fine just knowing that he's alive and not getting into trouble.

Romeo thought right. Macao was content that the boy was doing fine, not getting into trouble, not in with a bad crowd and getting fair grades. Sometimes the people around town tell Macao that _"Romeo-kun dropped by ealier"_ or _"Your son was here"_ and Macao always simply nodded and said, _"Oh? Hope he didn't cause much trouble!"_

It never occured to him to really hear past the usual reply - _"Of course not! He's not that hyper little kid anymore."_

What if Romeo looked and sounded fine to Macao, but in reality, like Lucy, the boy had problems that he felt he could only tell his friends?

Drowned in his thoughts, Macao was only pulled back to the conversation next door when he heard a squeal from Lucy. He pulled the curtains apart slightly to look, only to find Lucy glaring furiously at Natsu, who by then had his arms on the blonde's waist.

"You bit me!" Lucy exclaimed, rubbing a spot by her shoulder.

Natsu sniggered. "Because you're so fat I thought you were food."

"Did you just call me FAT?!"

"Fat Luigi is fat."

"I hate you-Ah!" - Lucy gave another high-pitched yelp when Natsu pulled her closer and then started tickling her sides. "Natsu, stop! Ahahahahaha! No fair! Let go of-... of m-m-me! Hahahaha!" In seconds, Natsu had the girl trying to stiffle her laughter to no avail.

Macao smiled despite himself and simply shook his head. Oh, to be young and so lively...

"Macao-san?" he heard Lucy say then, and Macao realized that he was just stupidly standing in his room, staring at the young couple shamelessly. Natsu stopped tickling the blonde and the teens stared at him blankly.

"Oh." was all the he was able to say. "Uh... hello?"

"Yo." Natsu blinked. "What'cha standing there for?"

Lucy drew away from him. "Stupid, we should have closed the window! We're being too loud!"

"You were the one laughing aloud."

"You were tickling me!" Lucy hit the guy on the head, then looked back at Macao. "We're sorry for the noise!"

"N-No, it's fine." Macao said reassuringly. "It's really fine! You two.. uh... go ahead!"

The teens stood up from their position in the windowsill and had started to grab the window. "We're closing the window now. Sorry if we were being loud-"

"Actually," Macao started, effectively drawing their attention back to him. "Would you two... uh, like to come over?"

"For what?" Natsu said, blinking yet again. Macao couldn't blame him - it was very sudden, after all.

"Uh... tea?" Macao offered, admittedly lamely. He scratched his head and realized he sucked at talking to teenagers despite working with Cana and other young part-timers in the Dragon on a regular basis. "I just... want to talk to you about something-... But only if you want to! I can see you kids are busy and all-"

"Oh, no." Lucy said, shaking her head fervently. She was blushing as she held her hands up in defense and tried to explain: "M-Macao-san, I know that I'm a girl and Natsu's a boy and we're in his room and we're at that age, but I swear, we weren't about to do anything inappropriate-"

Macao felt his jaw dropping slowly at what the young woman was trying to tell him. Natsu was looking more and more confused with every word.

"-we're not even dating, and we're just hanging out like what normal friends do after school-"

Macao struggled to find the right words to say, but he somehow managed an awkward, "No, I'm not about to give you the talk!"

Lucy stopped and stared, then calmed down. "Oh, thank you very much!"

Natsu let out a confused, "Huh?"

"Last time I was at the police station, Gildarts practiced on me." Lucy said, shivering. "I swear, I hope Cana's drunk when he does it, because it was so awkward."

Macao shuddered as well, and smiled in reassurance at the blonde. "I know that you're not kids anymore. I know that both of you know what you're doing and are using the appropriate kind of protection-"

"Ahhhh! Stop there! It's not like that!" Lucy exclaimed, tugging violently at Natsu's sleeve. "Natsu, tell him!"

Natsu shrugged, giving Macao his trademark easy grin. Both Macao and Lucy didn't expect to hear Natsu's response. "Luigi is being paranoid. I'm sure Macao understands that if we're going for 30 babies, we really have to start as early as now."

Macao watched as Lucy hit Natsu on the head again and shouted, "We can still make it to 30 if we start after college!"

"That's cutting it too close! What if you menopause early?"

Lucy shrieked, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"But we can make it if we get, like, five twins! Can you do triplets?"

"I don't know - CAN YOU?!"

They both turned to see Macao laughing loudly at them. The two whined "Whaaaaat?" at the same time, but Macao simply crossed his arms across his chest.

"Alright, I won't talk about babies anymore, but will you come over? For tea? I think I still have the instant muffin mix here and I can make that for you guys. What do you say? Afternoon snack?"

"Did you get that lonely being at home all day?" Natsu asked. Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, but he didn't notice.

"It's..." Macao breathed deeply. "It's about Romeo."

"Oh." they said, looking at each other, then back at the man.

"Okay," Natsu nodded. "We'll make Baby 1 while you make the muffins so-"

Lucy slapped a hand over the guy's mouth, effectively cutting him off, and then she smiled cheerfully at Macao. "We'll be right there!"

* * *

"Hm, these are good!" Natsu said, biting energetically in the freshly-baked muffins that were served before them. Macao made three batches. He will offer for Natsu and Lucy to take some home after their talk, then he will leave some for Romeo when the boy gets home.

Lucy nodded as well. "Natsu's right. They're delicious, Macao-san. Are these really just the instant muffins from the grocery?"

"I added some cinnamon and other random stuff in it for flavor." Macao said, inserting the second batch of muffins into the oven and setting the timer. Then, he stood up and looked at his guests. They were standing by the counter and already enjoying the treats straight off the tray. "I'm glad they turned out good."

"They turned out great! The regular ones come off too plain." Lucy said. "You should list down the ingredients. I'll try making them myself sometime!"

Natsu snorted, "Don't do it. She'll burn down the house."

Lucy pouted. "I can bake!"

"You can't." Natsu said numbly, then looked at Macao, shaking his head. "She can't."

"Don't be so harsh, Natsu. You almost burned the house down your first time cooking, too."

Macao chuckled, putting away his baker mitts and serving tea in the dining table, where the teens followed him like obedient puppies and sat themselves down.

"He did?" Lucy asked. Natsu groaned.

"Yep. Woke up the whole neighborhood with that explosion." Macao said, gathering the first batch of muffins and serving it properly as well. Then he sat down with them. "Romeo thinks you're his big brother so maybe he thought it fit to follow in your footsteps."

"Hey, I broke an old cranky unstable oven. I was seven! T'was bound to happen!" Natsu insisted. "Romeo broke the brand new and super friendly stove. He was... what, eleven?"

Lucy laughed lightly and Macao smiled at the young woman, before pouring them tea. "I know I've bothered you two with whatever you were doing back there," - when he saw Lucy's expression change, he hastily added, "which I know has nothing to do with the promised 30 babies."

Natsu sniggered.

"Still, good luck with that." Macao said, smiling an amused smile. "Igneel told the Dragon staff and we all cracked up."

Lucy rolled her eyes and it was then Natsu's turn to laugh.

"Lucy," Macao started. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation... the one about your father."

The blonde's expression turned serious as she looked down at her cup of tea. Natsu also fell silent, munching slowly on his muffin. "Oh. That."

"I'm sorry to hear that you're not getting along well..." Macao started. "All this time, I had no idea that you and your father are not on good terms."

"It's okay." Lucy tried to smile. "It mostly stays inside the house, so only my closest friends know. We appear perfect whenever there's a public appearance together, because... well... because it matters. It's the family business, you know. I can't let it crumble down like that."

"We understand." Macao nodded. "I also heard you talk about the way he was treating you?"

Lucy looked down. "I know he wants what's good for me. Trust me, I do. What else would he want for me, right? It's just that... his idea of what's good for me is me being perfect and successful and cold and alone. Like him. And I don't want that."

Both Natsu and Macao nodded.

"He's a proud person. I'm willing to talk about myself with him, but how could I when he always looks like he doesn't want to hear anything from me? Ever since I was little, whenever I do good, he tells me to do better. When I do great, he tells me it's as expected of me. When I do bad, he makes me feel like I don't have the right to be his daughter. So whenever he asks nowadays, I just say I'm doing fine, and then he leaves me alone, until he learns that I'm doing bad, of course. It's frustrating, so I thought it best if I separate from him and the reminder of him for a while. It's gotten to the point when being home made me feel alone because I know that, whether my dad is there or not, it's just the same." Lucy chuckled shyly. "What am I talking about? I'm sorry for being so depressing, Macao-san. And after you've invited us for snacks, too..."

"It's alright." Macao said, reaching out a hand to pat the young woman on the shoulder. It felt awkward, but Lucy saw his effort either way and gave him a small smile. It made him feel some anger for her father - Lucy was a sweet girl, how can a father ignore such a charming daughter? "We know that it's hard. So if you're moving out and there's anything I can help you with, don't hesitate to approach me, alright?"

"Thank you, Macao-san. Romeo is lucky to have you." Lucy said, and that made Macao withdraw and look down at his own cup of tea. Lucy and Natsu looked at each other, then the blonde asked, "Macao-san?"

Before Macao could answer, they heard the tell-tale bell of the oven. Macao excused himself to fetch the second batch of muffins. He set the tray on the counter and put in the third batch before going back to the table.

His guests were looking expectantly at him so he simply said, "I wanted to talk to the two of you about Romeo."

"Why? Something wrong?" Natsu asked. Romeo and Wendy had talked to him just the day before, and Natsu didn't notice anything wrong with Romeo. But then, he had been partly tired from work so maybe he missed something.

"No, not with my boy, no." Macao shook his head, smiling sheepishly. "It's just that... hearing Lucy talk about her father, I realized that I've been doin' the same, you know? I'm always out and I don't talk to him that much - too busy with work, you see. And when I'm not at work, I'm drinking with friends and... and uh, women." he turned to see if they were feeling uncomfortable or awkward, but the same concerned expressions were still in their faces. "And he looks all fine to me, but I thought, what if he just doesn't tell me about his problems, yeah? Lucy can't talk to her dad about it so she tells you, Natsu. What if Romeo has problems he doesn't tell me about? I entered his room earlier and I realized that I don't know him that much anymore."

"I'm sure that if there's a problem, Romeo would tell you..." Lucy said, but despite that, she sounded uncertain. "He's a good kid. Doesn't get into trouble much," then she chuckled, looking at Natsu. "Especially for a boy whose role model is already half-delinquent."

Natsu frowned. "I'm being good, since Gray's busy working and Elfman's always away at college... even Gajeel's bein' quiet."

"Still, though. Romeo has more sense than you guys." Lucy said, looking reassuringly at Macao. "I think he's doing really well, Macao-san."

Macao still looked unsure.

At this, Lucy added, "I'm sure if he's not doing fine, he'll tell his aniki." - she looked pointedly at Natsu, and the guy found his companions looking expectantly at him.

Natsu found himself blinking then, and unconsciously scratching his head. "Well, uh... I haven't heard anything really bad. Romeo has a lot of friends and he's always around town, you know. I'm sure if he had problems in school, I'd know. He tells me everything..."

"I'm glad to hear that." Macao said, smiling slightly. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first, Lucy... But-"

"Yeah." Lucy nodded. "It's better to hear it with a guarantee, right?"

Macao nodded.

"But here's the thing." Natsu started. "How much d'you know him right now? I mean, it's not just the bad stuff you have to watch out for when it's about your kids, right?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow. Macao blinked, then nodded slowly, seeing Natsu's point. Why is it that they're focusing so much on the negative side? It goes without saying that maybe there were some good things that Macao might have missed.

Macao sighed inwardly - had he forgotten how to be a father? As a parent, he should value his child's happiness first - so why was he content to know that Romeo was doing alright? He should add in an extra - after all, he was a father - he shouldn't stop with just _'my son is doing fine'_. He shouldn't stop until it's _'my son is very happy'_.

He shook his head. Yes, he had been very busy indeed.

"Well, I know about finals. I definitely know about finals." Macao said, chuckling slightly. "I know that... he's in a club?"

"Yeah. Computer club. But he told me next year he's plannin' to try out for track instead." Natsu said. "What else?"

Lucy picked up a muffin and contented herself with listening to them talk. It touched her to see Macao, a middle-aged man, struggling to get to know his son but not giving up. Macao was trying hard. She wished her dad tried sometimes.

"He has so much manga in his room."

"Ah, some of those were mine." Natsu said. "But yeah, he's been readin' a buttload of manga. Didn't know when he gave up robots, but he's not collecting them anymore."

"Really?"

"And he thinks Raijinshuu is awesome. He came with me and Lucy in their last gig."

"That's Laxus' band, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Well, Romeo likes a lot of rock bands."

Macao nodded. "Yeah, I think he bought some CD's a while back. That's when he worked those chores for Mirajane for a week, right? To buy some CD's?"

Natsu chuckled. "Yep."

"And I think his grades are good."

"His grades are awesome! Well, he's not the top of the class, he said, but he's good. Doesn't need cram school. He's got Levy and Erza to coach him. They always reply when he asks them online."

Macao smiled a bit. It was really a good thing his son had decent '_mentors_' growing up. Then he remembered something - "The Kite Fest! I know he's building a kite. He told me he's joining with a friend-... Damn."

Both teens blinked at him.

"I didn't even realize that he said he's going with a friend. I didn't notice that he didn't say that he's going with you! I thought it was just the usual, you and him!" Macao said, head in his hands. "That's new, and I didn't notice!"

Natsu laughed. It was then Lucy's turn to pat the man on the back consolingly. "Macao-san, don't worry! It's a small detail! Anyone would miss it."

Macao was about to say more, but they heard the door open.

"Tadaima!" Romeo called out to no one in particular, but when the boy saw them, he raised an eyebrow. "Natsu-nii?"

"Yo!" Natsu greeted cheerfully.

"Lucy-nee." Romeo said, blinking. Lucy waved a little. Macao was thankful that his guests didn't say_ 'We were just talking about you!'_ - the man wouldn't know how his son would react to that. "Dad, you're not sick anymore?"

Macao shook his head. "Not anymore. I invited these two over for a chat. I baked muffins, too. Are you hungry?"

Romeo headed over to the table and picked up a muffin. He took a bite and looked at his father. "They're delicious."

Macao smiled.

Romeo then looked at Natsu. "I went to your house but nobody's home. I was looking for you."

"Oh yeah, the kite!" Natsu said, grinning excitedly. "You guys are ready?"

"Yeah, that's why I went to look for you." Romeo said, munching on the muffin again. "This muffin's really good."

"Is it?" Macao asked. It's been sometime since Romeo was this impressed with something he cooked. The boy was already used to having delicious food because his dad was a veteran cook. As if on cue, the ring for the third batch was heard. Macao excused himself again to attend to it.

"Yeah." Romeo said, finishing the muffin. "Natsu-nii, it'll be sunset in an hour. We should test the kite out now!"

"Okay then." Natsu moved to stand up, seeing the boy's excitement. "Slow down, man! It's just next door!"

"Dad, I'll be back for dinner!" Romeo said quickly, already pushing Natsu towards the door.

"Yeah, yeah." Macao said. The thought that Romeo and Natsu's relationship hasn't changed over the years made him smile.

"Luigi, you should see this!" Natsu called, already outside the house. Lucy simply sipped her tea with a small smile of her own.

"Lucy, aren't you going with them?" Macao asked the young woman.

"Nah, I prefer to be surprised on the fest. Besides, I have to go home early today, got some homework to do." Lucy stood up and looked at the dining table. "Need any help cleaning up, Macao-san?"

Macao shook his head. "No, I can handle it! It's not much." - he paused for a while, before looking at the young woman earnestly. "Thanks for coming over."

"I had a nice time." Lucy assured the man.

Macao nodded. "I'm glad. Are you going now?"

"Yes, I just asked Loke to pick me up."

"Then let me pack up some of these muffins. You should take some home."

"Oh no, Macao-san! That's too much-"

"Please. It's just me and Romeo. I really made a lot so you and Natsu can take some of them home."

Lucy smiled. She watched as the man put some muffins on a plastic container and then put it in a paperbag before he handed it to her. "Thanks, then."

Macao watched as the girl slung her bag over her shoulder and took the muffins with her. He showed her to the door and just before she went out, she turned to him. "Macao-san?"

"Yes?"

"You're a really good dad, you know. I meant it when I said that Romeo is lucky to have you. The fact that you try, that's already something great."

Macao nodded gratefully.

Lucy smiled. "Talk to him. It would make a world's worth of difference."

"I'll take note of that."

Lucy waved one last time and was out. She dropped by Grandine's to see Romeo and Wendy struggling with their kite while Natsu stood over them like an amused supervisor, Happy and Charle tucked snugly in his arms. She wished them good luck before going home.

* * *

Dinner was ready when Romeo came home with a grin on his face. Macao raised an eyebrow and asked, "So, did it go well?"

"We need to adjust some things, but our kite's awesome." Romeo anwered, sitting down on the table across his dad. He said the customary "Itadakimasu!" before digging in.

Macao simply watched as his son ate energetically - the boy must have been tired and hungry. The man wanted to engage his son in conversation, but Romeo was focused on the food, served hot and un-microwaved, so Macao held himself back. They still have the rest of the night.

Before he knew it, however, Romeo was drinking water and had looked down at his empty plate. "It was delicious."

What the-...? He ate so fast! And Macao was sure he saw his son put a lot of food on that plate.

"Dad?"

Macao blinked. "Uh... yes?"

"I'm taking a muffin." Romeo said, getting a muffin from the ones served in the table and standing up, carrying his plate with him. He put the plate on the sink and then headed for his room. "I got homework to do but I'll do the dishes when I'm done so just leave your plate in the sink, okay?" the boy said, already halfway upstairs.

"Romeo-"

"I promise I'll go wash them! I just have to finish this homework first before I forget how to use the stupid equation!"

Macao was left alone in the table and staring at the direction his son went. He simply sighed and decided that maybe he would talk to Romeo when his son is washing the dishes. At least Romeo wouldn't run away from him by then.

"Macao." Igneel blinked when he found the man standing by his doorstep with a big bowl of muffins. "You feeling better, man?"

"Yeah. Thanks for lettin' me take the day off." Macao said, then offered the bowl of muffins. "I made these today when Natsu and Lucy came to chat. They told me it tasted good so here, these are for you and Natsu."

"Thanks!" Igneel grinned, accepting the bowl. "You should give some to Grandine's, too. The kids will like these."

Macao raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Neighbor." Igneel indicated to the house next door. "Romeo's good friends with them. He ate dinner with 'em yesterday."

"Oh." Macao nodded in realization. "Yeah. Damn. That's the last bunch."

Igneel laughed. "Alright. I'm takin' one." he took one muffin from the bowl and handed it to his head cook. "You give these to them instead."

"But-"

"I say Natsu's had enough, and I'm full - so one will be enough. You give that to the neighbors."

Macao sighed. "Alright, if you say so."

Igneel gave him an easy grin before closing the door again. Macao then headed for the house next door.

He rang the bell once and didn't have to wait long before a young man answered the door. "May I help you?"

"Uh, is this Grandine's?"

Mystogan nodded politely. "Yes. That would be my mother. Should I call her?"

Macao nodded sheepishly.

"Mom! Someone's looking for you!" the young man called out, then turned back to the man. "Please come in, sir."

It did not take long for Grandine to come out from the kitchen and look at their guest inquiringly. "Who is it?"

"Uh, I'm Macao Conbolt, ma'am. Romeo's father."

"Oh!" Grandine smiled delightedly. She turned to her son and said, "Mysto, call Wendy." - and as her son walked off to heed to the request, she approached Macao. "Please do come in, Macao-san! Have a seat!" The man was led to the family room, where he was offered a seat in the couch.

Macao offered the bowl of muffins to the house's matriarch. "I heard that Romeo always stays over and that he had dinner with you yesterday. Please accept these as my thanks. I haven't been around much lately to see to my son, you see."

"Oh, they look delicious." Grandine said, accepting the bowl and setting it on the coffee table at the center of the room. "Romeo-kun is a good kid. He's been very accommodating and we're lucky that he befriended our Wendy. She's really shy and she has been down ever since we moved here, but Romeo-kun did wonders when they became friends."

"Really?" Macao said, a smile creeping up his face. "I've been really busy with work so I'm not updated about my son, sadly. I hope he hasn't been causing you too much trouble."

"Not at all! And he's a helpful one, too. We're new around town and when we don't know our way around, we just ask him and he has some really useful answers for us." Grandine insisted, taking a muffin and taking the first bite. "This is delicious, Macao-san!"

Macao scratched his head and simply nodded nervously.

"Mom?" Wendy said, entering the room tentatively.

"Wendy, come here and meet Romeo-kun's father, Macao-san." Grandine said, gesturing for the girl to walk forward. "He even brought us snacks!"

Macao smiled as Wendy bowed and introduced herself. "Konbanwa, Macao-san! I'm Wendy, Romeo-kun's schoolmate and friend. He... umm... he's very nice and kind. He shows me around a lot and we're even joining the kite fest together."

"Wendy-chan," Macao started. He didn't expect Romeo's new friend to be a girl - and a very cute girl at that. Macao's friends who were girls were mostly his 'big sisters'. Still, Macao thought that his meeting with the girl has been long overdue. "I'm not always around so I don't know everything about Romeo right now. Is he doing fine?"

"Romeo-kun is doing fine as far as I know, sir." the girl replied obediently.

_'Damn, she's very polite.'_ Macao inwardly noted. _'And Romeo's aiming for Natsu Junior. What do these two talk about?'_

Instead, Macao smiled in his most friendly manner and said, "I'm actually having difficulty being a good dad. I feel like he's gotten very distant to me. What do you think I should do?"

She looked at her mother and when Grandine nodded encouragingly, she continued. "I think that if you want to know more about Romeo-kun, you should simply ask him. Romeo-kun always tells me that you're busy but he also says that he knows you're doing it all for him. I think you just need to talk. Even if Romeo-kun doesn't have problems, well... I think... if he can share all the fun things with you, he'll be very happy. Oh, but- Ah! T-Th-That's just my opinion, Macao-san! D-D-Don't take it... so seriously..."

"Thank you for the advice, Wendy-chan." Macao said, beaming with pride. His son was doing very well, after all. He just needed to let the boy know that he was very proud of that. "Romeo can be clumsy and awkward at times, but everyone I asked has told me that he's doing okay. Please continue to take care of him."

Wendy smiled back shyly. "He is a precious friend, sir. I will do my best."

* * *

When Macao went home, the dishes were still in the sink. He went upstairs to see how his son was doing. The door was ajar, so he knocked thrice and peeked his head in. Macao found the boy sprawled asleep on the bed, still gripping his pencil, with his notebook lying in his stomach.

"Romeo, go finish your homework, son." he said, nudging the boy gently.

"M'done..." Romeo groaned, turning to his side. In turn, the notebook slid from his stomach and to the bed. Macao picked it up and skimmed the equations quickly. Well, all the the items have encircled final answers...

Macao simply chuckled and took the pencil from the boy's hand, laid it on the study desk along with the notebook, and then put a blanket over his son's sleeping form.

He missed taking care of his son. Macao was glad that he was given this one rare moment to do something for the boy.

He went back downstairs to do the dishes.

_'Sometimes'_, he thought, _'getting sick does you some good'._

* * *

The next day, he went home early. Romeo stared when he found his father already cooking dinner.

"What're you standing there for, Romeo? Clean up - this will be ready soon."

Blinking and nodding tentatively, Romeo obeyed his father's order.

Halfway through dinner, Macao inititated the conversation.

The man cleared his throat and said, "You didn't tell me you're going with a girl to the Kite Fest."

Romeo looked up at him.

"Wendy-chan is a nice girl. Very cute, too."

Romeo looked back down at his food, staying silent.

"She liked the muffins very much."

"Yeah?" the boy tried. He wasn't used to this...

Macao nodded. "Yeah. How did you get past those twin brothers, by the way? They looked tough."

Macao didn't expect to hear the next statement from his son: "Lucy-nee is on my side, and Jellal-san will always agree with her because Lucy-nee is friends with Erza-nee, and Jellal-san likes Erza-nee."

Macao stared.

Romeo looked at him with a little smirk.

Macao laughed. "You little smart-ass!"

"I don't know... I wonder who I got it from?" Romeo said smiling mischievously, making his father shake his head in amusement.

They finished their dinner in twenty minutes, but their conversation went on for another hour and a half. It was the longest time that Macao had spoken with his son in what seemed like years.

After washing the dishes, while Macao was reading the latest issue of his favorite food magazine, Romeo stood by the staircase staring at his father.

"Dad?"

Macao did not look up from his reading. "Yes?"

"Thanks."

Macao looked up to stare at his son. He raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For the time." was all the boy said before heading for his room.

"Anytime." Macao mumbled, smiling contentedly to himself.

Life is good.

.

.

.

**A/N: **Some friends thought it would make more sense to make Romeo a rebellious teenage son, but I decided against it. That role's for Laxus. Romeo has a dozen older brothers and sisters and they wouldn't let him stray that far. Plus he has Wendy. If your conscience sounds like Wendy, I bet you'd be a decent kid.

But for the meantime, I have a big chappie next week...

.

**Coming up next:  
"Gajeel Never Runs"**

It's the longest chapter I've ever written. Ever.  
It's a freakin' long chapter with important stuff in it.  
Gajeel/Levy, other people, and backstories.  
I got carried away, I think.


	13. Track 13: New Perspective

**A/N: **Presenting the longest chapter I have ever written.

This chap is basically Gajeel. This awesome guy is one of my favorite bad-guys-turned-good characters ever. Now this chapter has mostly everything: NAKAMA! power, hints of romance, some funny scenes and a wee bit action. And angst.

One of the early drafts for WAY already has Gajeel as one of the darker characters. I knew I promised to keep things simple and less dramatic in this universe, but for Gajeel and Juvia, I want their backstories in the canon reflected in here as much as possible - simply because their backstories have a lot to do on their character quirks. So yeah. This chapter is kind of heavy, but I swear it's still the We Are Young you guys know and love.

So here: Gajeel deals with being the new guy in a circle of insane friends. And Levy. For me, Levy has always been the turning point for Gajeel. So it's just fitting that she gets her role here.

And a little note: Relax, guys - I'm trying to balance the main characters in the chapters as much as possible. This has lots of Gray, Levy and Cana because the previous one had a lot of Natsu and Lucy. It's hard to have an ensemble main set, dammit.

I won't keep you long now. I just hope you like it. Enjoy the ride~ ;D

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 13: New Perspective  
**..aka "Gajeel Never Runs"

_"Taking everything for granted but we still respect the time._  
_We move along with some new passion knowing everything is fine."_

- Panic! At the Disco

.

Gajeel grunted as he climbed up the numerous flights of stairs to get to their apartment. He clutched at his side -_ 'Fuck, that hurt. Shit. Fuck. Ouch.'_ - as he did so. But nevermind his sides. His whole body ached. He stifled his groan of pain in his last few steps, when he was finally on the right floor.

He stumbled towards their unit. The lights were on, he noted - was Juvia staying up late talking to Gray again? Waiting for the ice queen to get home so she could greet him goodnight before going to sleep himself? Gajeel couldn't care less. What really bothered him was the fact that Juvia would see him in his current state.

He shortly contemplated staying outside until he was sure that his flatmate was asleep, but he decided against it. He could and would deal with Juvia. He needed a nice place to collapse on and rest for the night. That nice place, he knew, was Juvia's couch - his bed.

Gajeel struggled with his keys for a few moments but he managed well enough to open the door.

"Tadaima..." he said lowly. There was no answer. Maybe Juvia was in her room. As he kicked off his shoes, Lily bounded towards him. The black cat looked up at him silently. "Yeah, I know. I look like shit."

Lily was a very expressive cat - he blinked and then cocked his head to look at the couch.

Gajeel followed the feline's gaze and groaned at the sight that welcomed him. Juvia was lying on the couch, fast asleep.

_'Great. Can't walk by myself and now I gotta carry you to your room.'_

He sighed as he walked towards his sleeping flatmate. That was when he noticed that she was hugging his pillow (the black-and-red one that she made for him) while gripping her phone in one hand. She was frowning deeply as she slept.

"Juvia." he said in a whisper - he had to wake her up because if he tried wrestling for the pillow, he knew he will end up with an additional bruise on his face. Juvia punched in her sleep sometimes.

"Gajeel-kun..." he heard her mumble, snuggling closer to his pillow and sniffing a bit. "Come home..."

"I'm home." Gajeel said, finally deciding against himself and ruffling the blunette's hair. "Wake up."

The young woman opened her eyes and looked up at him sleepily. "Gajeel-kun-..." - then she bolted up, wide awake. "Gajeel-kun!"

Gajeel simply said, "Get off my bed. You have your own."

Juvia's brows then furrowed and she frowned at him, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Gajeel readied himself for the dramatic sobbing he knew was coming, but instead he got a furious scolding: "Gajeel-kun was gone for hours and didn't leave a note or a text and won't answer Juvia's calls and does Gajeel-kun know what time it is?!"

"It's 2 am."

"Where were you?!"

Alright. That was new: Juvia abandoning third person. Gajeel scratched his head. "Just... out."

The blunette clutched the pillow closer against her chest. "Last time Gajeel-kun was out this late, Gajeel-kun came home with a knife stuck on his back."

"You've seen me worse and you didn't go crying worried then." Gajeel said. Juvia was still frowning, so he simply sighed. "I'm sorry. Okay? Check me now. No knife."

Juvia's expression softened considerably. She set aside the phone and the pillow before shifting to move over to one side of the couch, making room for her companion. "Sit down." She looked at Gajeel as he slumped down tiredly beside her. Juvia bit her lip when she noticed the bruises on Gajeel's arms, a bad black-eye, and some blood on the side of his lower lip. She knew that there were definitely worse bruises under his school uniform. "Shirt off. Juvia will get the first-aid kit."

"I'm okay." he grumbled, grabbing his pillow and starting to prepare for sleep, but Juvia was already in the kitchen fetching the kit. He sighed again and ran a hand through his unruly hair before simply unbuttoning his shirt and taking it off.

Juvia frowned when she saw the damage, but Gajeel was right - he'd been through worse and she had seen worse on him. This one could be called kind. She handed him an ice pack that he obediently pressed against his black eye.

For the next few minutes, Gajeel let his flatmate put bandages on the cuts and tend to his scrapes and bruises. Juvia did this with silent precision. They've been together long enough for her to get used to dealing with Gajeel when he got home from a fight. When she said, "Piercings.", he simply complied and took off his piercings. After all, they stung when she applied the first aid for the bruises on his face.

"What happened?" Juvia finally asked, starting to dress a minor cut on his side.

_'So that was what hurt like fuck...'_ Gajeel thought, looking at the cut. Then, aloud, he answered: "I was down at Metallicana's."

Juvia looked at him, involuntarily gripping his arm. He almost winced, but he was too busy avoiding her look. "What was Gajeel-kun doing there?"

"Nothing."

"Gajeel-kun..." Juvia started, but ultimately did not know what to say.

"I just... felt like comin' over."

Juvia sighed, going back to finishing up his wounds. "Why is Gajeel-kun beat up, then?"

"I took the shortcut. Figured I'd get home sooner-"

Juvia looked at him with an expression of firm disapproval. "Gajeel-kun should know very well that the shortcut is the worst possible way home."

He rolled his eyes. Of course he knew. He used to be one of the thugs that hung out in that route to beat people up and mug them. That night he was alone, familiar and not one of 'them'. He should have known what was coming. "I already said sorry."

"Juvia is not mad."

"Suit yourself."

When Juvia finished up and started cleaning up the first aid, Gajeel stood up and headed for the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth - _'My mouth hurts too._', he thought, but he ignored it. He headed straight for one of the cupboards that he used as a closet to get himself a clean shirt (Juvia insisted that he can use the closet in the spare room, but he insisted that the cupboard was enough. He still had some of his things in her room, though. One time she got fed up with him and shoved the rest of his things to her room and set them up there.).

Juvia was yawning as he watched her put the first aid kit away. When she turned to look at him, he quickly pressed the ice pack back against his eye.

"Go to sleep." he said, walking towards the couch, noting that Lily had already fallen back asleep in his basket.

"Is Gajeel-kun going to school tomorrow?" Juvia asked, standing by her bedroom door.

"Yeah. We have a test." he said, settling his back on the couch and making himself comfortable. He grabbed a blanket and draped it over himself.

"Juvia will change Gajeel-kun's bandages tomorrow morning, then."

"Thanks."

She didn't close her bedroom door, but he heard the familiar click of the lights off as well as the creak of her bed. Juvia had gone to sleep. He could hear her toss and turn for a few minutes but as soon as it stopped, Gajeel fell asleep fast enough.

* * *

"Alright, what got you down?"

The question made Juvia look up from her knitting the sweater that she planned to send to her father for his birthday. Across her, Gray was focused on an ice sculpture on the table. He caught her looking blankly and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well?" he asked again.

Juvia furrowed her brows in question. "Did... did Gray-sama say something?"

"You've been awfully quiet today. Just yesterday you were talking about Lucy moving out. Now you're pouting." Gray continued, looking back down on his work. "If something's got you down, you can tell me. If you want to."

Juvia continued her knitting and simply said, "It's Gajeel-kun."

Gray nodded. "What about him?"

"Gajeel-kun went home last night all beat up."

"What happened?"

"Gajeel-kun went to Metallicana-san's and then took the route on Phantom's turf. Juvia would think that Gajeel-kun was really asking for a beating if Juvia didn't know better."

"Why was he there?"

"Juvia didn't ask. Gajeel-kun might get angry."

"Hey, you patched him up. He owes you an explanation."

Juvia sighed. That made Gray look up at her with one raised eyebrow. He watched as his girlfriend put down her knitting and laid her chin on her hands, pouting down at the table.

Gray chuckled. "Hey, waterworks. Cheer up."

Juvia looked away. "Juvia feels frustrated. Juvia doesn't know why."

Gray shook his head, going back to his sculpture. "Relax. Go back to your knitting. You'll forget about it. Besides, Gajeel is a big boy and he should've learned his lesson. No need to worry too much."

The blunette groaned but obediently picked her project back up. She didn't want to ruin a peaceful afternoon with her Gray-sama. She was already feeling lucky that Gray had taken to have an afternoon off once in a while to be with her - and to top it all off, he almost always took initiative.

After a few moments of peaceful silence, she sighed and stood up. "Juvia will cook."

Gray looked at her, glanced at the nearby wall clock and then asked, "This early?"

"Juvia wants to cut things up."

Gray paused, then simply nodded, watching his girlfriend head to the kitchen. "Okay."

Gray had never known that the sound of chopping vegetables could be so terrifying. When Juvia had chopped down three dinners' worth of meat and vegetables, he pulled her away from the kitchen and sat her back down on the table. He took out his phone, tapped it a few times, and then handed it to her. "Um, just... play some games. It helps with the stress."

Juvia looked confused, but took the phone anyways.

After the first few minutes, Juvia spoke up. "This game is very satisfying."

Gray smiled. "Yeah?"

After an hour, still engrossed at slashing furiously at Gray's phone, she said, "Can Gray-sama put the water to boil? It's almost dinner. Juvia will just finish this one."

"Sure." Gray said, looking at her shortly before obeying.

Gray ended up cooking dinner while his girlfriend played Fruit Ninja. He has yet to decide if he would regret letting her play that game or not. At least, Gray thought, she was happy.

"Juvia should get one of these phones."

"...Yeah, well... okay."

* * *

The next day was a Saturday. Gajeel woke up to an empty flat early in the morning. That was odd. Juvia usually didn't go out until the afternoon, and Lily was usually still asleep in his basket.

The pains in his body had lessened considerably, but he still struggled to get up.

When he sat up, he noticed a plate of a very delicious-looking stack of pancakes on the table in front of him. Gajeel blinked. 'What the fuck. Last time I checked, Juvi's mad at me.'

A small sticky note was partially tucked under the plate.

_'Ohayou, Gajeel-kun!_

_Please eat the special breakfast Juvia prepared for you!  
__Juvia and Lily went to help Lucy move in her new flat and will be in the third floor if you need them.  
__Eat up!'_

Gajeel re-read the note three more times and then stared at the watermelon doodle under it. What the fuck is up with that watermelon? Why is it stabbed with a katana?

With that, he came to a logical conclusion: _'The pancake is poisoned. Juvia has had enough of me.'_

He stood up, scratched his head and headed straight for the shower. He was not awake enough for this shit.

After his bath, Gajeel grabbed a fork, poured himself a glass of milk, and then ate the breakfast anyway. He simply told himself that if he dies from the pancakes, at least he didn't die hungry. When he finished the meal without dying, he blessed Juvia for her kind soul._ 'She's in the third floor waiting to kill me.'_

He headed to his death.

* * *

"Lucy, what the hell do you have in here?"

Gajeel stared as Gray complained while helping Max carry a particularly large box towards an open apartment unit. Gajeel saw Lucy peek out her head from the unit and smile apologetically.

"Oh, those are my books! Sorry!" the blonde said before going inside again.

Max noticed Gajeel and said, "Hey, man. G'morning. Come to help?"

Gajeel shrugged. "If you guys need it."

"The truck's down there. There are still some boxes left." Gray said, before the two went on carrying the box to Lucy's flat.

Gajeel decided to drop by the flat first. It was chaos when he entered. Erza was shouting at Natsu to get off the bed, Cana was already raiding the fridge, Elfman was shouting for someone to tell him where to move the couch but no one was listening, and Mira was concentrating with listing something down in a notepad. Jet and Droy had just put down a box of Lucy's things. Both gratefully accepted the drinks that Virgo handed them. Gray and Max were peering at Mira's notepad and were both frowning deeply. Lucy, Juvia and Bisca were dusting out the built-in shelves in the living room.

Gajeel noted that the unit was one of the smaller ones. It only had a single bedroom, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. Just enough for one person. He would have expected something bigger, knowing that Lucy was a rich girl, But then, Juvia had told him that Lucy basically ran away from home, so maybe it was just reasonable.

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia greeted, catching Lucy's attention as well. "Did Gajeel-kun eat the breakfast Juvia prepared?"

"Yeah, it was great." Gajeel said, then looked at Lucy. "Nice place."

"Thanks." Lucy smiled cheerfully.

"Gajeel-kun came to help." Juvia offered. Gajeel simply nodded.

"Oh..." Lucy quickly looked around and, seeing everyone else busy, she turned to Gajeel and said, "There are still some boxes back in the truck. Loke should be there. I promise the heaviest ones have been brought up."

"Right." was all Gajeel said, exiting the flat and heading for the truck downstairs. He met Alzack and Warren, carrying a TV and a microwave oven respectively, on his way. On the parking lot, he found Loke talking to the truck driver. He noted that the truck was the Fire Dragon's delivery and supplies truck. Igneel and Macao must have volunteered, after all.

"Anything else I can carry?" he asked the bodyguard.

"There are still some things at the back." Loke answered. "Thanks for the help."

"Ah." Gajeel waved him off and headed for the back of the truck.

He found a familiar blunette stumbling backwards as she heaved a large box off the truck. Gajeel moved quickly to grab the box, and Levy regained her footing, looking up at him, surprised.

"Gajeel!"

"Pick up something your own size, short stuff." he said, easing the huge box in one of his shoulders. "What the hell. This weighs nothin'. What's in this?"

"Pillows." Levy giggled. "I can handle it. Let me carry it up."

"You won't see where you're goin' with a box this big." Gajeel said. Instead, he grabbed a small box of what looked like stationery supplies and handed it to her. "There. Better for 'ya."

Levy rolled her eyes as she accepted the box. "Gee, thanks."

Gajeel carried another box - heavier this time - and then wordlessly walked away to carry the boxes upstairs . Levy grabbed another smaller box and stumbled after him. "H-Hey, wait!"

"Walk fast." Gajeel smirked. "Your feet are small so y'have to run."

"That's mean." Levy said, but followed him as they walked up the flights of stairs. On their way up, they came across Natsu and Gray, who were running frantically from Erza's wrath. ("Who are you calling a monster?!" - "Tattoo-face won't like you because you're so scary!" - "Ooooh, is that a blush I see? Erza's a lady now!") Gajeel and Levy got out of the way just in time before the three could tackle them. In the process, Levy found herself scooting closely behind Gajeel, who automatically stood before her protectively.

"Thanks." Levy said, as he drew away from her and kept walking again.

"It's nothin'." Gajeel replied roughly. He waited for her to catch up to him again before they continued walking together.

"Gajeel, uh…" Levy started, cocking her head to look at him. Gajeel raised an eyebrow at her. "Something's different."

"What? I got into a fight. Big deal."

"No. Not the black-eye. It looks bad, though."

"It doesn't hurt anymore. Got an ice pack on it fast enough."

"That's good. But something's really different."

"Yeah, don't stare at me. It's creepy."

Levy laughed, withdrawing her gaze from him as they reached Lucy's flat. Without Erza, Natsu and Gray chasing each other, things looked relatively peaceful. Elfman had somehow managed to put the couch down. The living room was looking like a proper living room by then. Jet and Droy had successfully set up the TV and were already watching a baseball game on it. Alzack and Warren were in the kitchen, being helpful to Virgo and Cana, who were arranging things and filling up cupboards. Bisca and Juvia were placing the books on the newly-cleaned shelves. Mira was still busy with her notepad and for some reason, Max was looking very troubled.

Levy and Gajeel both headed straight for the bedroom. He was carrying the pillows and she had Lucy's study desk supplies, after all. Lucy was just setting aside the boxes that contained her shoes and clothes. She would arrange her closet when the ruckus was over.

"I got the pillows and the sheets." Gajeel said, setting down the boxes. Lucy quickly thanked him for his help and told him to grab some snacks in the kitchen if he wanted some. Levy set the supplies and the papers on the study desk.

"Let me help you with the sheets, Lu-chan." The blunette offered. Lucy thanked her as well and they both started dressing up the bed.

Gajeel left the girls to their work and headed for the kitchen, where he was, indeed, offered some snacks. He declined and settled for the drink that Cana handed him. He almost choked when he realized that it was beer. Gajeel glared and Cana winked at him. The raven-head simply resolved never to trust Cana again as he handed her the drink back and went to get his own glass of water. She muttered "killjoy" before drinking the beverage herself.

"I got the curtains…" Loke chimed in, carrying a box. Natsu, Gray and Erza, all panting, trailed after him. Natsu and Gray both looked battered.

Since almost all the girls were arranging things while the guys either ate, drank or watched TV, Gajeel excused himself to stand outside the unit, by the hallway, to get some fresh air.

He watched the happenings inside the flat unfold. Mira declared that the bets will be drastically affected by Lucy's move, with Max sighing in defeat and trying to change his bet while the others who were bumming around turned to her and complained. Cana declared that the kitchen was all done and ready for use, with Alzack and Warren applauding her ability to accomplish the task while half-drunk. Virgo remarked that there was alcohol in the fridge and she did not remember packing that for her princess. Loke had taken to setting up the curtains with Elfman's help. Bisca joined the boys who were watching the TV while Juvia ran to the bedroom to announce that they've finished setting up the shelves. After setting up the bed, Lucy and Levy shouted angrily when Natsu practically dived in it. Back in the kitchen, Gray was commenting about the fridge's perfect freezer. Erza was holding her phone while glaring at Cana, who was giggling teasingly at her. Cana was about to say something when she tripped over a peacefully sleeping Happy. The cat jumped and dashed towards Gray's arms. Gray caught the blue cat and tried to calm it down as best as he could. Natsu's cat acted like it belonged to everyone most of the time.

_'They're all crazy.'_ - was Gajeel's conclusion after watching them long enough. He always knew that they were a really wild, tight bunch. The several parties in The Strauss' that he was able to attend proved that the scene in the flat was even pretty tame for them. Gajeel again questioned why he was stuck with these people, but then he simply sighed and thought, _'Because this is my life now. I'm one of them now.'_

He didn't notice that Levy had stood beside him, leaning by the balcony and holding a tall glass of cold water while Lily was also snuggled comfortably in her arms.

"I know what's different now." she chimed cheerfully.

Gajeel looked at her shortly and then back at the scene inside the flat. "Shoot."

"You don't have your piercings!" Levy said, cheerful.

"Oh." - he forgot about that. Ever since Juvia made him take them off, he hadn't had the time to put them back on. "Do I really look that different without 'em?"

Levy shrugged. "At first I didn't notice because of the bruises, but yeah, it makes a lot of difference."

Gajeel paused for a while. Then, he asked, "Good different, or bad different?"

Levy looked at him for a long while then. Gajeel felt uncomfortable under her studying gaze, so he was inwardly relieved when she finally withdrew and looked inside the flat as well. "I don't know, really. 'You' different, I guess."

He raised an eyebrow. "What's that mean?"

"Well," she started, smiling sheepishly. "I can't say it's 'bad' different - those piercings make you look scary sometimes so without them, you look less scary, you know? I can't say it's 'good' different either - they're pretty much part of you and well, they look good on you..."

He couldn't help but notice a little blush on her face, but he credited it to the heat. They were outside, after all, and the sun was high in the sky.

Instead, he simply listened to her as she continued, "So, it's 'you' different - because you're still you, with or without them. Doesn't really change much..." - she chuckled, looking at him shyly. "I'm babbling nonsense, am I?"

Gajeel smirked and looked away again. "Yeah. Hold back on the weird a little, will ya?"

"Sorry." she giggled. "Why did you take them off, anyway?"

He shrugged. "Juvi made me take 'em off when I got beat up. They hurt like hell, ya know."

Levy nodded. "So... um... you got beat up?"

"Yeah. Walked into the wrong alley alone." he said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I survived. Gave Juvi a heart attack when I got home, though."

"You still walked home? You're on the seventh floor!"

"Yeah, well... I've had worse. I can walk home with a knife on my back. Ask her."

Levy stared at him blankly. "Did she faint? When she saw the knife?"

"No!" Gajeel threw his head back and laughed. Levy pouted at him and he looked at her in amusement. "She was too busy patching me up to faint. Got me a good scolding when she finished, though."

"You're lucky to have Juvia-chan." Levy said, looking at the blunette in the room, who was sitting in the couch enthusiastically tapping away on Gray's phone while her boyfriend was slumped beside her looking at her warily, absently stroking Happy's fur as the cat lounged on his lap. She almost dropped the phone when Gray yelped as Cana pressed a cold beer bottle on the back of his neck and Gray realized that he had stripped again and he was only wearing his boxers. Levy smiled at their friends' antics. "If I was her, I wouldn't have known what to do. I would just cry there and you would have to tell me to call the ambulance for me to even think that I had that option."

"Don't like blood much, huh?"

That set a halt in the conversation as both of them tensed up. It triggered a horrible memory in Levy's mind and she involuntarily tightened her grip on Lily. They snapped out of it when the cat withdrew from Levy's arms and looked expectantly at Gajeel, who numbly reached out as the feline transferred itself to his hold.

He mumbled, "Sorry."

"It's okay." Levy tried to laugh lightly. "Anyways... Y-Yeah. I'm pretty useless with wounds."

"Juvia can stitch." Gajeel said, as if showing off his flatmate proudly.

"She can?"

"Don't ask me how, though. She's been doing it for me ever since we were in Phantom."

"Oh." Levy nodded. "Wow. And you? Being stitched up ever since you were in Phantom?"

"Yeah. Two-digit stitches too."

"No way."

"Yes way. First digit is three." He nudged her by the elbow lighly.

"More than thirty-...?! You're just trying to scare me!" Levy stepped back, pouting.

"Yeah?" Gajeel challenged, smirking at her expression. "You scared?"

"You're mean!" Levy hit his arm lightly.

"I'll show you the scar." he challenged confidently. "Bet ya you'll run away."

She pouted. "I-I-It's not true!"

"You really that scared, huh?"

"Even Juvia-chan will run away from... w-what, thirty stitches?! That's impossible!"

Gajeel laughed again and raised a hand towards her. Levy closed her eyes and tensed, but he simply ruffled her already messy hair. "Fine, I was kiddin'. You might cry and the others will kill me."

Levy looked away and huffed, but didn't draw away from him. Instead, she stepped back to her place beside him and said, "I wouldn't cry. I'd be scared but I wouldn't cry."

"Yeah, nice try." Gajeel said, pocketing his hand again while the other held Lily close.

Both of them looked up when Erza called loudly from inside the flat.

"Hey, guys! Your attention, please!"

Everyone looked at her. Erza had her phone pressed against her ear as she talked to the rest of the group. "Mysto just told me he'll buy some pizza before going here. He's asking us what flavor we'd like."

There was a general uproar when the people inside the flat applauded and praised their kind pizza benefactor.

"Pepperoni!"

"Beef!"

"Hawaiian!"

"Double cheese!"

"Garlic cheese!"

"Bacon!"

"Double bacon!"

"Triple bacon!"

"Can't they just make the crust out of bacon?"

"Cheesy bacon crust!"

"Veggies!"

Erza sighed and muttered her apologies on the phone before shouting again, "Three flavors, tops! And we're all pitching in on this! Now make up your minds!"

Someone brave enough shouted "Tell him you're in love with him!"

The red-head shouted back a furious, "Wrong twin!"

The flat fell silent.

And there was another brave soul who said,_ "Oooooh, she didn't deny it!"_

Erza blushed a shade that matched her last name very well as she ignored the loud cheers of her friends and said to the phone, "M-M-My apologies for the noise. Ummm, we'll have hawaiian, bacon and the one with vegetables, please-... Shut up, not you too!"

* * *

Natsu cooked dinner. On Lucy's first night in her own flat, she had Natsu, Loke, Virgo, Aries, Juvia and Gajeel eat dinner with her. Happy and Lily ate cat food retrieved from Juvia's flat.

Juvia, Gajeel and Lily left shortly after dinner. When they got back to their flat, Gajeel closed the door behind him and Juvia sat back cheerfully on the couch.

"Lucy looked so happy." the blunette said, letting Lily jump onto her lap and absently stroking the cat's fur. "Juvia knew that things were bad between Lucy and her dad, so maybe this is really what's best for Lucy..."

Gajeel shrugged, slumping on the other couch across her. "More chances for Salamander to step it up with Bunny Girl. D'you see how excited they were with the bed?"

Juvia raised an eyebrow. "Juvia doesn't think they've gone that far... The bets are not even over..."

"Betcha we'll have that idiot having sleepovers in there soon."

"Gajeel-kun is really supportive." Juvia said, looking down at Lily, who was snuggling warmly against her.

"Just statin' the obvious."

Juvia giggled softly and kept stroking Lily's fur. After a few moments of companionable silence, she spoke up. "Gajeel-kun..."

Gajeel was fiddling with his phone distractedly. He managed to get out a simple "Yeah?"

Juvia breathed deeply before starting, "Juvia was with Gray-sama yesterday... and..."

"Do I have to know about this?"

"No, not like that!" Juvia blushed, but quickly regained herself and continued. "Juvia was with Gray-sama yesterday and Juvia realized that Juvia is very upset with Gajeel-kun."

Gajeel blinked, finally looking up at her. "You were upset?"

"Yes."

He sat up straight. "So why am I still in one piece?"

Gajeel didn't know that his question had been very fitting for the situation. He didn't expect the answer that came from his flatmate. "Juvia chose to slash fruits instead."

"Oh." - so that's what the watermelon was about.

"And after Juvia calmed down, Juvia decided that today, Juvia will ask Gajeel-kun for an explanation."

Their eyes met for a brief second before Gajeel sat back against the couch lazily and looked up at the ceiling. Juvia stayed silent, watching as her companion closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Lily, who seemed to sense the tension between the two, promptly left Juvia's lap and headed for his basket.

Gajeel said, "I went over to Metallicana's. It was a wreck. Looks like the old gang was there."

Juvia swallowed before asking, "Were they looking for Gajeel-kun?"

"Hard to tell." he shrugged. "I haven't been there in months. Maybe they were just there for the usual. Stealing from houses. Scavenging on the abandoned ones. You know the drill."

"How did Gajeel-kun know that it was... them?"

"They marked the place with their stupid ugly sign." - and inwardly, he added, 'Our former stupid ugly sign.' He continued, "The fridge, actually. Spray-painted. The walls were still clear. Dunno why. I think someone spotted me coming in. I was still inside when I heard the rustles. So I went out to look, but there was no one. I forgot myself when I took the back alley home."

"They beat Gajeel-kun up."

"Funny, they didn't take my money or anything. Just plain beat me up. They were asking me why I left, askin' stupid questions like if it's fun hanging with the fairies, or if I've gone good and soft, or if I liked the people pretending to be nice to me. They asked me where I hid you. 'Course I'd rather die than answer any of their bullshit so I just told them to go fuck themselves. Probably was the wrong decision."

"Gajeel-kun should have ran the other way."

"It was their turf. There were about ten of 'em so they were gonna catch up either way. 'Sides, that was one wrong decision I didn't regret. I don't run. Rubbed it in their face good that there's no way losers like 'em will win me back. They only won because there were a lot of 'em. I beat each of them up nicely too. Just that I was the one who got the worst beating."

Juvia sighed. "Why did Gajeel-kun go over to Metallicana-san's?"

Gajeel looked away grudgingly and cross his arms across his chest. "I don't know. I just... felt like looking again. I really dunno. Fuck if I know-"

"Gajeel-kun-"

"I know what you're gonna say. And yeah, I get it! Alright?" he cut her off, tone accusing. He obviously felt betrayed, which made Juvia look down at her lap. "The sick bastard's never comin' back. No matter how many fucking times I drop by. He left and I'm freakin' fine with that. I really am. Don't think that I'm not over it because I am. I really am. I just-..." he trailed off, seeing the hurt look on his best friend's face. "Nevermind. I'm going to sleep." He finished abruptly, grabbing his pillow and starting to put it in place before he turned his back towards the blunette.

After a few silent moments, Juvia spoke. "Juvia was about to say that she wants to ask Gajeel-kun to take someone else with him whenever Gajeel-kun goes there again. Juvia doesn't and wouldn't understand how Gajeel-kun really feels, but Juvia wants to ask him to stay safe. Juvia is fine with Gajeel-kun looking for Metallicana-san. It's Gajeel-kun's decision anyways."

Gajeel didn't answer. Juvia sighed, standing up. She walked over to him and sat on the coffee table between the two couches. Gajeel was reminded briefly of the way he sat down on the same table when he talked to Levy a few months prior. He quickly shrugged that off, feeling his roommate's presence closer behind him.

"Juvia and Gajeel-kun are not alone now. Not anymore." Juvia said patiently, running soft hands gently through her roommate's long black hair. Gajeel stayed still. "Juvia and Gajeel-kun have friends now. Juvia and Gajeel-kun... belong somewhere now. So please... trust in other people more? Doesn't Gajeel-kun like our friends?"

Gajeel mumbled something that Juvia didn't quite catch.

"Yes?" she asked, encouraging him to speak up louder.

"I said they're insane." he said, a little more coherently this time.

Juvia smiled. "Juvia is sure that the boys wouldn't mind going with Gajeel-kun somewhere. Gajeel-kun just needs to ask nicely."

"I don't know how to be nice."

"Gajeel-kun is just saying that." she insisted, ruffling his hair slightly before going back to stroking it gently. She did it absently, as if he was a cat curled up against her. Juvia always knew that Gajeel and Lily were very much alike. "Gray-sama and Natsu-san and the others all enjoy being with Gajeel-kun. They're not mad at Gajeel-kun anymore."

"How do you know?"

"The moment Levy-chan chose to forgive you, they all decided to do so as well. They thought that if Levy-chan could, why couldn't they?"

She saw his shoulders tense. Then, he repeated his question: "How do you know?"

"Juvia asked."

"Who?"

"Gray-sama."

Gajeel stopped speaking again.

It was Juvia's turn to ask, "Does Levy-chan know?"

"Does Shorty know what?"

"About Gajeel-kun."

"What about me?"

"Gajeel-kun and Metallicana-san, about Phantom?"

"Only you do, you know that. Why d'you think she'd know?"

"Gajeel-kun and Levy-chan were talking a while ago." Juvia smiled lightly, continuing to run her fingers through his long hair. "Levy-chan is kind, Juvia thought she forgave Gajeel-kun too quickly... even for someone as kind as her - not that Juvia thinks that's a bad thing. Juvia just thought that maybe Gajeel-kun might have shared or told Levy-chan something to make her accept things that fast... But maybe Juvia is overthinking things-"

"You are."

"Mm-hm." she nodded absently. "Still, it was nice to see Gajeel-kun and Levy-chan comfortable with each other."

"You're starting to talk weird like her now."

"Is Juvia? Hm..." she hummed a bit, before giggling. "It's just that Juvia hopes that someday Gajeel-kun can share his story to someone. Even if that someone is not Juvia."

The raven-head had stopped talking as he dwelled on what his best friend had said. Juvia accepted the companionable silence and simply kept stroking her roommate's hair. She had been doing it for quite a while and her hand was getting somewhat tired, but it seemed to calm Gajeel down - like a cat, she thought again - so she simply enjoyed the little peaceful moment.

"Juvia."

"Hm?"

"That feels good. Thanks."

Juvia simply smiled and whispered, "Gajeel-kun is welcome."

After a few more minutes, she heard her companion snoring lightly. She tucked his hair behind his ear and finally stood up to head to her own bed.

* * *

The following Monday was marked by hectic school festival preparations. All classrooms were filled with students decorating the place and making costumes.

Class 3-C was about to make the typical horror house. Jet and Droy were very enthusiastic about the project because Bisca, the class rep, told them to 'do your computer stuff' to spice things up.

As such, Gajeel ended up quite busy sloppily helping some of his other classmates sew together yards of black fabric for use on their horror house. He honestly thought that he wouldn't get a task because most of his classmates were still wary of him, but Bisca was a fair person and was a member of the circle of friends that took Gajeel in - she made sure that no one would get left behind. With that thought, Gajeel remembered Juvia's words the previous night: 'Juvia and Gajeel-kun belong somewhere now...'

Gajeel had just finished with sewing two yards of cloth together when a piece of paper with messy handwriting was shoved to his face.

He looked up and saw Cana standing over him. She was wearing a gypsy costume. He knew that she will be playing some kind of scary tarot-reading fortune-teller or something. "Yo, Redfox."

"Alberona."

"That sounded awkward." she remarked blankly.

Gajeel shrugged. "Clive."

"Shit, just call me Beer Queen."

"Beer Queen." he replied, rolling his eyes. "What is it?"

"We need more stuff." the brunette said, shaking the paper in front of his face again. "Everyone else is busy, and you suck at sewing anyway, so... will you get these for us?"

Gajeel took the paper and read the short list three times before folding it and tucking the note in his chest pocket. He then extended an open palm. "Cash. What time d'you need 'em?"

Cana smiled and dropped a couple of bills in his hand. "You got two hours max. We'll probably be needing those by then."

"Got it." he said, grunting slightly as he stood up. He put the money in his wallet and grabbed his bag to get his phone. "I'll just send a text if I get confused or something."

"Go do that." Cana nodded. "Thanks. You need someone else to come with you?"

"Nah, I'm good." he waved her off, starting tow walk out. "See ya, Beer Queen."

As he exited the room, he heard her call out, "Two hours, okay?!" and he simply raised a hand to indicate that he got the message.

* * *

Gajeel hated his weak foresight. That said, he might as well lump Cana in with him on the foresight department.

He doesn't know where the hell to buy face paint, powder, eyeliners and freakin' red lipstick. And cheap wigs. Cana put in a note saying to buy the cheap ones because they'll be using them for just a couple of days. He can handle the threads and cloths and sewing supplies - Juvia makes him run those errands for her sometimes... but he really had no idea on where or how to get cheap costume stuff.

He walked around town aimlessly for a couple of minutes, trying to remember if he saw a novelty shop somewhere on the few times he wandered around the lively part of the Magnolia market square. He finally found a shop that looked like a costume supplies store. It was just beside - he rolled his eyes at this - Juvia's usual craft store. He could be so unobservant sometimes.

As he stood in front of the shop, he encountered his next obstacle.

No way in hell is he going to get caught entering that blasted colorful sparkling shop. He had a reputation - he was Fairy Tail's "Iron Dragon". He was clad in black and metal and piercings and chains...

...and he's not going to enter a shop that has like fifty different wigs of different colors on display. There were even some toy swords, wands, funny hats, goofy masks and... shit, are those GLITTERY FAIRY WINGS?

He tried to be reasonable.

"I'm not buying for myself." he mumbled. "These are for Beer Queen. On sharp-shooter class rep's order. And the rest of them. I can just hand over the list and then look over at prices and get the items. I'm on an errand." - and for the last time, he repeated, "It's a fucking _errand_."

After taking one step forward, he stopped.

"No fucking way, those glitters are probably **toxic**. I'm not stepping into fucking wonderland."

And then it happened.

When he was about to turn around and find another less-sparkly and colorful shop... there came the moment that Gajeel thanked the Gods for.

The shop doors opened and a familiar figure stepped out, carrying paperbags all too large for her size.

Levy McGarden took a step back when she saw him just standing there stupidly. She raised an eyebrow, "Gajeel?"

It was becoming a habit of him nowadays, to automatically take the girls baggage from her because she was always - and he meant ALWAYS - carrying stuff too big for her. He did just that, sighing, "Who the hell actually trusts someone like you to carry all this?"

"Me." the girl said defiantly.

"Figures. Everyone but you knows you're too puny to actually hold anything other than your candy."

Levy looked at him, cheeks flaring red and attempting to look dangerous while glaring. "That was rude!"

"Truth is rude." he said, a hint of a grin spreading across his face as he saw her roll her eyes and give up on trying to act angry. "Now go turn a hundred-eighty and walk back inside that place."

The blunette blinked. "What?"

He took Cana's note from his pocket and shoved it to her face. "I'll carry your stuff, so help me buy mine."

She took the paper and read the contents, glancing at him quickly before sighing. "Say 'please'."

She wanted to chuckle because of course he wouldn't say-

"Please, Levy."

The blunette paused, looking up at him. He was looking down at her with his normal nonchalant expression, as if he just said something normal. Well.. normal for him.

And she knew that 'Please, Levy' was not normal for him.

Levy looked behind her, gazing at the colorful shop before looking at Gajeel. His expression hasn't changed. She looked at the costume shop again and then back at Gajeel, who had raised an eyebrow at her unusual behavior.

Then, to Gajeel's horror, the blunette grinned up at him slyly. "Ohhhh, Gajeel cares about his tough guy reputation, hmmm?"

He rolled his eyes. "Look, the shop freaked me out. It's like a freakin' magical rainbow unicorn or somethin'. I don't do unicorn."

"Could it be...?" Levy faked a gasp. "Gajeel's _scared_?"

"Fuck, no-"

"Oh, he is!" she laughed, earning a miserable grumble from her tall companion. "Gajeel's scared of a costume shop!"

"Look, all the colors and glitters will creep any guy out!"

"But you're the toughest guy in FairyGaku!"

"Exactly, and those pink, sparkling toy wings over there are for the weak!"

Levy laughed at him again and he stared at her - maybe he should have gone in himself. Now people were looking at them.

"Fine, fine, I'll get these..." she finally said, smiling cheerfully at him. Then, just as he was about to sigh in relief, she grabbed his arm and smirked. "...and you're going with me!"

"NO SHI-"

He was too late.

* * *

"So how did you end up alone?"

Levy was surprised to hear her companion start the conversation. They were walking peacefully back towards FairyGaku grounds, Gajeel carrying the majority of their loot while Levy simply carried a small paperbag containing supplies Gajeel bought from Juvia's usual crafts store. The people in there know the roommates so he got a discount. That bit impressed Levy.

"Same as you. Everyone else was busy. That's what happens when most members of the class are either in the student council or important members of the school clubs."

"Hn." Gajeel thought for a bit and tallied everyone he knew from 3-A. Bunny Girl was always helping with the cheerleaders. Titania was student council president. Juvia is the swimming club's best member. Some other students are indeed popular and would be busy with their own clubs...

That left, in Gajeel's head, Salamander and Frosty.

He could see why Levy volunteered.

"It's quite nice, though..." Levy mused absently, making her companion look at her. "You're getting along fine with everyone now. Just a few months ago, they were all telling me to stay away from you." she laughed guiltily. "And now you're picking up supplies for them."

He shrugged. "Sharpshooter's playing fair."

"Most of us grew up together playing fair." Levy smiled. "Principal Makarov doesn't call us his 'children' just because we're FairyGaku students. Most of the group stuck together mostly because we all have our own problems. Our group is the problem bunch. We're notorious!"

Gajeel glanced at her and saw that her smile had turned wistful.

"Natsu's mom died giving birth to him, and his dad had to raise him alone and run the Dragon by himself. That's why he thinks his friends are important, because we're his family whenever Igneel falls short.

"Gray's parents died and left him with his cousin and aunt. His aunt died too, and then he was passed to the next relative in line. There he was old enough to actually feel like a burden so he left as soon as he can manage to be independent. It hadn't been easy. Sometimes he still asked them for support and we knew how hard that can be for him...

"Cana lost her mom quite young and she struggled with whether to tell Gildarts that he was her father or to keep silent. Not to mention, because she was always around town, there had been really nasty rumors around her back then. That was a really tough time. We always had to tell her that she wasn't alone.

"Erza was an orphan and she would have been moved to another orphanage if the principal hadn't decided to take her in. Laxus always had a problem with his dad, and now with his grandfather. Actually, he still has problems right now, I think... But he really is a good guy. We all know that. He just... doesn't show it a lot.

"Mira and Elf had a happy and normal family, their parents didn't leave them really early, but what happened with Lisanna struck us all hard.

"When Lucy joined us, we thought: 'Good, there's someone happy and normal in the team!', and then we learned that even she has problems with her dad... Really, it's no wonder why we stuck together fast even though we're all so different."

Levy paused to breathe. Gajeel took everything in slowly. He always knew that their friends came from really different backgrounds and families. Hearing from Levy, he thought she made it all sound sad but simple, but he knew that there really must be so much more to those few sentences for those people to naturally gravitate towards each other and stick together for good despite their differences.

Gajeel asked. "How 'bout you?"

The girl answered very willingly. She was open like that. "Well, I was a bookworm and I was small and shy... I didn't have friends before Jet and Droy. Even though I got bullied for a while, I had protective friends. I have a really supportive and normal family... I'm one of the lucky ones, I guess." Levy sighed. "I think that's why I saw through all them... because they had problems I knew I didn't have. I think that's what brought me close to them, you know? They knew that I knew, and I... well, I just tried my best to understand. The others who were also... well, let's say 'luckier'... I think they feel the same way. They just know and understand, and that has always been enough for everyone..."

Gajeel nodded, looking ahead as they continued walking.

Levy chuckled uneasily. "Ugh, it got so dramatic! I'm so sorry I'm talking about depressing things!"

"Don't they get offended or anything?"

She looked at him. "Hm?"

He continued to look ahead, avoiding her gaze. "You're just blurting out their stories and you make it sound so easy and so... over."

"It's not easy, it's very far from that!" she quickly answered. "But... they never get offended when I share something about them from others... And yes, it sounds 'over', because it is. Those things were in the past. We're all better now. Some of them still struggle sometimes, but I think they've all accepted it. It's part of them now. It will always be a part of them, but I don't think... I don't think that they would allow those problems to ever drag them down, not after all these years."

When he didn't answer, she continued, "Anyways, that's how we roll! So... yeah, after saying all that, I've come to think that I really shouldn't have been surprised that we took you in so easily..."

"Juvia's parents worked abroad." he said, all of a sudden. Levy looked at him, blinking. The raven-head cleared his throat and went on. "Her dad left even before she was born and he goes home like, only every five years. Her mom also left as soon as Juvia can handle herself alone. They bring in plenty of money and Juvia can have everything she wants. They stay in touch. They call her almost every night. It's a good arrangement, Juvia doesn't feel neglected... but a few years ago, even those weren't enough."

Levy nodded, realizing that Gajeel had taken it upon himself to give her something back. She shared and now he recognized that it was his turn.

"She's a weird one, ain't she? She talks weird and likes coloring, painting, threads and making stuff... a little too much. She always got teased because of that. She had scary eyes and always kept that pink umbrella her dad gave her that one time he went home... so before you guys, she didn't have any friends. Odd duck. When her mom left her, even though she always sounded happy to them, she was really lonely so on afternoons after school, she sat by an alley full of little cats, always feeding 'em and talking to 'em.

"One day the Phantom Gang went in that alley and hung out there. We were delinquents and we tried to get her to leave the alley because we're makin' it part of our turf. We tried driving her away, but she wouldn't budge and she just sat in her usual dump. She promised to keep quiet and stay out of our business. Thought she was a freak so we just ignored her whenever we hung out there. Other gangs thought she was part of us. We didn't really say anything about it 'cause they all thought we had this scary rich girl and they thought it was cool.

"The gang tried to hurt her once but fuck she got a hell lot of stubborn on her 'cause she just glared. I told 'em to cut it and ignore the freak, so they backed off of her. Then one time, this shitty jerk, one of us, tried being mister lover boy and told her all sorts of sweet stuff. She was stupid to believe in all that, really, but she was shy and lonely and there weren't many people who were nice to her, so she just straight on stuck herself to the bastard. She was officially one of us, then, because she was the jerk's girl.

"Then he hurt her really bad and made her cry really hard when he cheated on her. I think I punched the fucker for that, but they just laughed at me and she ran away. Pretty soon the loser was out the team, I still dunno why... and then one time I met her in the streets I told her that the jerk who hurt her is gone. The next day, she was back in the alley with the cats.

"I asked her why she was hanging out with jerks and delinquents like us. I told her that if it's for the cats I'll just give her a hand and take 'em somewhere else, right? And then she told me that at least when we talk shit about her, we do it in her face. The ones at school do it behind her back. So we might not have treated her all that nice, but at least we never lied to her."

"I never knew any of this." Levy said. "In fact, Juvia-chan never told us anything before Phantom-"

Gajeel sighed. Juvia had asked him to share his story with their friends when she herself hadn't said anything. "It was a bad memory, so maybe she chose to keep it to herself. Or maybe Frosty's keepin' her secrets for her."

"Gray told me Juvia gave him a hard time on the fight. She learned to fight while with you guys?"

"She already knew basic karate. Looks like she had some lessons as a kid." Gajeel answered loosely. "But what she knows with the knife, I taught her. Couldn't help it. Some shits went in our turf once and if the gang hadn't been there on time, they would've done something really nasty to her. Still funny though, we always said she was the freak girl who hung out in a corner of our alley but some of us got really mad. Guess she just rubbed off on us."

Levy chuckled. "That's Juvia-chan for you."

"She went really easy on Frosty, though. She had a crush on 'im that time so she really wasn't giving a fight. And stupid Frosty just didn't want to hit a girl so maybe they were just being stupid on each other. " Gajeel shrugged. "So then, I taught her a few tricks, she really didn't see the use for it, but damn, was she good at it whenever she had to defend herself. That's also around the time I got Lily."

Levy couldn't help but smile. "So Lily really was yours?"

"I came in the alley one time and Juvia wasn't there yet, but one of her usual cats was being noisy. There was this kitten calling for its mom to wake up, but the cat ain't waking up. It was bloody. Betcha one of the bastards in the gang did a number on it. Lily was a fighter, though... I tried to take away his mom and he scratched me. I tried to take him away and he scratched me harder. So I just... fed him - because that's what Juvia always did. When she got there she told me the kitten likes me. But Lily still scratched me whenever I tried touching him... but he followed me everywhere after that."

"That was cute."

"She thought so too." Gajeel scoffed. "There was one time when things got really bad."

Levy thought he heard his voice drop and she looked at him. "..What happened?"

"I got into a fight and got a really bad cut. Went back to the alley because I don't know where else I can go. Juvia was there. She said it looked bad. It felt pretty bad, too. She asked me if she should take me to the hospital or call the police. If she did either, I'd be interrogated and I'd go to jail or juvie or... well, ya know. We didn't like the authorities. Any authorities. I told her I'll just go get it cleaned up but she took one look at it and said it needed stitching. It actually really felt like it really needed stitching, so... maybe she was right..."

"That's when she stitched your wounds?"

"She took me to her place - she was living alone then and she patched me up. She said it was her first time stitching a cut."

Gajeel could still remember that very day. That was the day he first felt that he and Juvia were really friends. She was crying and she sounded so damned afraid and nervous, but her hands did not shake a bit because she knew that she should do it properly or else he'll get worse. She did twelve stitches on her first time - it was that bad. But she managed it. She had been very brave for him. That was the first time in a long time that Gajeel truly felt that he wasn't alone.

"She just knew what to do because her mom's a doctor and they had a small clinic way back. That's also why she's good at all this medical stuff."

"Wow."

"She let me sleep on her bed and watched over me because I burned up with fever too. She skipped a school day for that. I asked her why she was helping me that much. Ya know what she said?"

"What did she say?"

"She told me she didn't know. She didn't want to lose a friend. I told her that we're not her friends. She trusted us too much and we talk shit about her and we're not afraid of hurtin' her. I told her no real friend will get her involved in all this shit. And ya know what she told me? She told me that I tried to make her stay out of our bullshit as much as I can and that's why she considered me a friend. She's a drama queen, that one. Stupid stupid drama queen. But after that, I knew I should start treating her right. Because nobody ever told me that I'm doing 'em good, and then there she was."

Levy let out a small smile as his story finished. She felt like she got to know two of her friends all over again. She knew that Gajeel and Juvia share a close friendship, but she didn't know it went that deep. Thinking about it, it was really sweet. She wondered if Gajeel ever loved Juvia as more than a friend and just simply stood back because Juvia was very obviously taken with Gray. But then, that would be asking for too much. She was also surprised at just how difficult it had been for some people, and how easy it was for others. They all had a story, she knew - and this one was one of the darkest she had heard. She was lucky enough that Gajeel was willing to talk to her about their past. Both Gajeel and Juvia were "late-comers" in their circle of friends and thus they were more private than most. "You two really go way back, huh?"

"You can say that."

"How about you, then?"

"What about me?"

"Your story."

"That was my story."

"No, that was Juvia-chan's!"

"That was Juvia's and mine. And Lily's. You got three, shorty."

"But it didn't have much about you!" Levy insisted. "Why did you join Phantom?"

Gajeel smirked. "Sorry to burst your bubble, bookworm, but I don't do backstory."

"Eeeehhh?" Levy whined.

"Don't wanna tell 'ya."

"Fine, be like that!" Levy pouted.

"We're here, anyway." Gajeel shrugged. "Beer Queen's waiting for me because she needs these stuff so I can't tell you more."

The blunette sighed as they entered school grounds. "Alright, alright. But one of these days, I want to hear your story!"

He shrugged again, this time huffing a bit. "Not happening."

Gajeel walked the lithe blunette to her classroom, carrying her shopping loot with her. Gray was the first one to notice Gajeel trailing after Levy when she got back and he quickly ran to get their class' supplies from the other guy.

"Thanks for helping, man." Gray said, taking the large package and then setting it down on the table.

"Yeah." was all Gajeel said, taking the bag that Levy was holding for him before stepping out the room again. "See ya 'round, shorty."

"Thanks again!" Levy called out before Gajeel went out of her sight. When she peeked on the hallways, Gajeel was already a few meters away. "Hey, Gajeel!"

"What?" the raven-head asked, stopping to look back at her.

"I... uh... I need my notebook back!"

"What notebook?"

"The study guide I lent you on our last study group?"

Gajeel thought for a second and then nodded. "I have it in my bag. I'll give it back before I go home."

"Thanks!" then she went back inside the classroom to attend to her classmates. There was work to be done.

Gray was already taking out the supplies when she walked towards him. She sighed and said, "Gray, where's your shirt...?"

"Crap." It took him a few minutes to find his shirt around the classroom. The others were busy on their preparations and didn't really notice him looking for it. When he got back to Levy, he said, "Y'know, if you told me you'd be buying this much, I would've gone with you. You told me you're just buying a few stuff."

Levy smiled. "You were pretty busy with Natsu..."

Gray rolled his eyes. "Point. But feel free to interrupt. You know we'd help you out."

"I know." she nodded.

"So..." Gray obviously didn't know where to start, so he simply said, "Gajeel, huh?"

"He was buying too. Bisca asked him."

"Hm. How are... things between you guys?"

Levy looked up and saw him shuffling awkwardly, focused on unpacking colorful streamers from the bag. She raised an eyebrow at her friend's out-of-character behavior. "...Gray?"

"Just asking." he said quickly.

"We're doing fine." she said. Then, smiling, she changed that to "We're doing really great. Anything you should be worried about?"

"Nah, we're good too." Gray said, smiling a bit. He looked really relieved. "Just a bit curious on you two, is all. It's good that you guys are fine."

"Yeah." Levy nodded. "It's good."

* * *

Gajeel cursed as he slammed his locker shut. He rubbed his aching temples and absently rummaged through his bag again, not finding what he had been looking for for roughly an hour.

He must have forgotten it at home.

He grumbled frustratedly, shaking his head - he couldn't have. Juvia cleans up every morning and she would have put it in his bag - because she acts like his mom like that. There was still a small chance that it was at home, so he sent Juvia a text. She said she didn't notice anything - she was a neat freak so he was then sure that the chances of Levy's notebook being at the flat just got so much smaller.

_'Shit'_, he thought._ 'I must have dropped it at Metallicana's.'_ He was sure that the gang didn't take anything from him. He was sure he didn't drop anything when he was limping back towards the flat. He recalled, though, that he opened his bag, took out his stuff and rummaged for his lighter, when he was inside the old abandoned house. He must have missed it when he was packing back up because he was in a hurry - he knew he was being watched and had to get out that house as soon as possible.

He owed Levy that notebook. She told him to take care of it because she didn't have time to make him a copy and she would need it real soon. 'Real soon' was the end of the day.

He cursed again. He didn't want to go back there, not when he's not in the best condition if he ever got into another fight. Not when he was still trying to stay away because he knew that his old gang were probably waiting for him there. He used to be one of them. He knew how they thought, how they moved, and how they planned.

Maybe he could outsmart them, but he was not going to risk it. He will survive anything they put him through, he knew - what he was actually worried about is how Juvia would skin him alive because he had been so stupid going alone and getting himself hurt. Again.

Maybe he can take her advise and ask someone to go with him-

"There you are." he heard a familiar voice behind him. "I went to your classroom but Bis said you left to go get something."

'Crap.' he cursed yet again, turning to look at Levy, dressed in warm clothes, her bag slung in her shoulder. She was ready to leave. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." she said, scratching her head. "I'm going home early today and I didn't want to bother you, so I figured I should just pick up my notebook... May I have it back now?"

Gajeel closed his eyes and thought of an excuse -_ 'A lie, you mean.'_, he added inwardly. What could he possibly say? He misplaced it but he's going to find it realy soon? He left it at home? He still needs it? He's not done copying the notes he needed? Gajeel wracked his brain for more reasons - _'A lie, you mean.'_, he added again, as an afterthought.

"I think I lost it."

After a few months of being 'one of them', Gajeel concluded that he had completely lost the ability to defend himself.

Levy stared, then asked, in a very understanding voice, "...When?"

"I just realized a few minutes ago. That's what I was looking for. I can't find it." he said, trying to keep calm, because the girl in front of him was trying to be calm too.

"Alright." Levy said, breathing deeply - she was obviously trying not to be angry. "Um... can you still find it?"

"It's not at home, not in my bag, and not here."

"Oh dear." now she looked ready to be angry, but she was still trying to calm herself down. Gajeel didn't know if he looked pathetic or what, but he definitely knew that whatever his face was doing, it was causing Levy to be extra considerate. "Anywhere else?"

"I think..." - he paused for a while. Will he tell her? Blast it - he'll go answer her when she asks anyway, so it's better if he just told her straight out. "It was at Metallicana's place. I went there last week and I had the notebook then I got beat up. I think I left it at the house I visited."

Her face brightened up. "Great! Does the house have a phone? We can call and tell them we'll go get it back-"

"No one's in that house. It was abandoned."

"But who-"

"I dropped by to just... spend some time alone. It's kind of a hideout."

That didn't faze her. "Okay. It's your hideout thingy, so maybe we can just go and get my notebook!"

It sounded so simple. Gajeel groaned. "Didn't you hear me the first time? I got beat up because I took the wrong alley on my way home last time-"

"Then we'll take a different alley or just go back the way we came." Levy suggested, still making everything sound very simple. However, Gajeel saw her point. If they just go back the normal way, they can-

Wait.

He raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think you're going with me?"

"Well, it's my notebook. It'll save you the time to go to my house to return it to me if we go together when you go get it."

"No way, you're either going home or waiting here. I'll get that notebook and bring it to you. It's too dangerous in there."

"All the more reason not to go alone. You just said it's dangerous."

"But you can't fight back-"

"We'll run."

"I don't run."

She gave him an innocent shrug. "I'll run. And get help."

_'WHY IS SHE SO LOGICAL?'_ Gajeel inwardly groaned. He just couldn't argue. She always had a point to counter him.

The day was slowly drawing to a close. The late afternoon sky was a brilliant orange and Gajeel knew that if he won't hurry up, it'll be dark when he arrives in the abandoned house. It will just get more dangerous.

"Fine, let's get it now. But when I tell you to stay a few blocks away or run or hide, you do it, okay? Those guys don't care if they hurt girls or kids."

Levy nodded obediently. "I trust you."

As they made their way out the school gates, Gajeel could only grumble. "We better stay safe or everyone will kill me."

* * *

They got to the abandoned house before sunset. As they stood beside each other in front of the old rusted gates, Gajeel looked around. There was no one suspicious nearby. They were in a quiet area of Magnolia. People were scarce. Most of the houses were empty. They were in the far side of a residential area and they did not see too many people walking by.

Gajeel opened the rusty gates and Levy followed him as he headed for the door. The raven-head gripped the door knob but paused just before he opened the door. He looked at Levy.

The blunette blinked up at him. "Gajeel?"

"You're small so if I lose you, I'll have a damn hard time lookin'." he said, watching her adjust her bag on her shoulder consciously.

She frowned. "Geez, it's one small house. What could happen?"

"Shit can happen. So don't leave my side." he said, finally opening the door without another word to his companion. Levy stopped for a while, staring at his back, before smiling lightly to herself and following him inside the house.

The inside of the house looked very much abandoned. There were broken windows, cobwebs everywhere and dust all over the place. The couch looked very dirty and worn out - scratch that, the couch was damaged. The small television screen was cracked. Chairs were overturned, while the sink and dining table had grime. The walls were filled with spray-painted juvenile grafitti that weren't there the last time Gajeel came. 'Finally they thought to decorate the walls too.'

"They raided it after beating me up." he said.

Levy was looking around, inching closer to her companion. "You... hang out here?"

"I lived here." he said, absentmindedly righting up a chair that was in their way. Levy yelped and instinctively clung to his arm when a small rat passed by on the floor by her feet.

"This was your old house?"

He glanced at her. She looked smaller, gripping his arm nervously. He simply looked away. "I used to stay here. There's a difference."

Levy looked around again, reading the foul graffiti by the walls. "Who would do this? It's awful."

"Phantom." he said simply, then felt her grip on his arm tighten. He decided to choose his next words carefully. He could tell very well that she did not expect such a mess - it scared her more than she thought it would. He continued, "Not that they had much to add. This hellhole's already a mess when I came here last time."

"It already was?"

"Yeah, they just added a couple broken windows and upturned chairs and decorated the wall." he said smoothly. It was an understatement, though. Gajeel knew that they had done so much more. The last time he was in the place, everything was very dusty and worn out and practically crumbling, but it still looked habitable. The place right now was practically a wreck. It looked like a crime scene.

"But... you still came here...? What... what do you do?"

"I just... stay. Hide from all the noise for a while." he gave her an uncertain shrug before glancing at her. She was trying to study him._ 'Nerd.'_ - he thought. _'Stop studying everything.'_

She nodded, then finally realized that she was clinging to him and let go. "I'm sorry if I'm being too whiny."

"It's fine. Bet ya didn't expect this too, huh."

"I expected a... more... normal house." she laughed uneasily. "So even if it's like this, you can still chill down here?"

"Yeah. Find that weird?"

Levy simply shrugged. Any signs of fear he saw in her before was gone. "Not really. I mean, we're all weird and crazy in our own ways, anyway."

"Hm." he grunted. "You're used to weird."

"Yep. What do you do when you go here? Listen to music? Something like that?"

"I look for stuff."

"Stuff?"

"Just... stuff." he said, finally walking towards the vandalized kitchen table. He looked around for any more signs of damage. There were scratches in the wooden table that weren't there when he last laid down his things.

"Why?"

"I'm looking for a message or note or something."

"Message?"

"From-" he paused abruptly. He was giving away too much. He had been distracted with looking around to see what else the Phantom Lord gang had done that he didn't notice that he was giving out answer after answer.

Levy looked at him curiously. "From..?"

"Metallicana." he said lowly, looking away. "The bastard."

"He owns this house, right?"

"He used to."

"So... a friend?"

"No."

"Oh. Brother, then? Or cousin? A relative?"

"Not a relative." - he cut her off roughly, making her stop and look at him, slightly startled. _'He's not a relative,'_ he thought._ 'But he was family.'_

Levy looked down. "...I'm sorry, am I being too nosy?"

"Look." he started, weighing his next words carefully. He knew he could trust her. Heck, for what little time he'd been with his new friends, he knew for a fact that they all got each other's backs. This was Levy - the girl who almost died by his hands but still forgave him and now she was one of the people he was closest to. Juvia had always told him to tell someone - give himself a confidante, and Levy might just be the best candidate for it.

It wasn't a matter of trusting others, he knew - it was a matter of baring himself. Gajeel was the "Iron Dragon" - he was cold and closed, with a wall of steel built up around himself. He was the only one who could break it down.

"Yes?" Levy asked softly this time, bringing him back to the situation at hand.

"My mother left us with our drunk father and started her own family. My old man was a drunk and a shit person. I let Social Services take my sister because she'll be in better hands there. I haven't seen her since. That's fine, though. She's better off there than with me or our shit dad."

"You had a sister?"

"I have a sister." - he corrected. "Juvia doesn't know."

Levy breathed deeply. If Juvia didn't know, then she was being trusted with something really heavy. "And your dad?"

"Drinking, gambling and fucking around, and barely gettin' to keep a job that actually pays decent. Told me to steal a couple times and that was just the first year of middle school. I didn't know where my mother was, and I don't know why I stuck with the old man. Maybe because I pitied him. He was good before shit went down. I dunno how shit went down too. Was too young to understand and before we knew it, the family's broken."

"I'm... I'm sorry."

"What for?" - he scoffed, but quickly continued, "So the old man was being shit and sometimes he was hurtin' me too. I was foolin' around makin' a habit of stealing and mugging people because that's what I knew how to do. Second year of middle school, I met Metallicana.

"I tried to mug him one time, and he beat me up and I spit in his face and I think I broke his nose but at the end of it, I was the one who had it worse. I dunno why he dragged me here. But he gave me an icepack and got us both dinner. He did shady stuff. Dealt with drugs and the big gangs... Phantom looked up to 'im but he never looked at 'em twice. Says real gangs don't have stupid children as members. He never got me involved in his stuff, though. Sometimes he'd ask me to collect somethin' from this guy, or deliver stuff for that guy, but he made sure it's safe for me. Sometimes he'd punch me in the guts because I tried to shoplift. He said if I'm gonna do shit, I better do it in a way I won't get caught easy. He was a right bastard and he's the scum of the Earth but I learned my tricks from him. From hiding to fighting. There was a time I stayed here with him for weeks. He's a bastard like my old man but he's a better bastard, so I liked him better too. I... I looked up to 'im, too - I stuck to him for months on end because he treated me like I'm not trash."

"What happened to him?"

"He left. Didn't say anything. One time I came here and he was gone. Some of his things were still here, but no message. Nothin'. I knew I shoulda known better than to hear anything from him - I mean, who am I, right? Just some kid who hung around. I dunno if he just up and left or if he was arrested or if he left and died in a ditch. That's when Master Jose scouted me for Phantom. I rejected 'em for a few months but when I realized I can't do shit to find Metallicana, I finally went with 'em. They offered some cash and they respected me 'cause they think I'm Metallicana's protege or something. So I was Phantom's special boy because of that reputation."

Levy nodded slowly, looking up at him with a small shy smile. She didn't know exactly what happened, but she was glad that he trusted her enough to share something to her. "And the rest is history?"

"Yeah. My old man hit the bucket around my first year of high school. My mother popped out of nowhere trying to take me back in but I didn't want to ruin her happy family. 'Sides, she looked like she was just feelin' obligated so I chose to stay back. By that time I already had Juvia and Lily and that's enough for me. I got by on what little cash they left me. She still asks me from time to time. Still sends money. She chose to cover that much, but I'm not livin' with her. Not when I'll see her face everyday and see her scared of what I am."

Levy nodded again.

"M'sorry."

The blunette blinked. "...What?"

"Your notebook ain't here. I bet my best knife that they took it and then threw it away."

Levy sighed, looking around the wreck again. Gajeel was frowning deeply at the table. He was sure that if he left the notebook, it would've been there on the scratched-up, beat-up dining table, or around it. It wasn't. He had been looking around and there were no signs of the item.

"It's okay, I guess... You left it because you were in a hurry and I can't blame you for that." she tried to cast him a reassuring smile. "It was dangerous, right?"

"Yeah."

Levy simply nodded. "Your life's worth a lot more than my reviewer."

"I told you all that backstory crap because you probably won't be seein' that notebook again. I was stupid. Stupid for takin' it out 'round here and stupid for even comin' in here."

The young woman shook her head. "It's alright. Really. It's just a reviewer, I can do it again. Besides, I'm sure Lucy or Erza would have something too. I just have to ask them."

Gajeel ran a hand through his hair and avoided her gaze. "Sorry for bringin' you all the way here for nothing."

"No, it's okay. It's really okay. Stop apologizing!" she insisted. "You'll ruin your rep!"

"Sit down. I'll go look around some more." he stated gruffly, walking away and heading for the stairs.

Levy, feeling more timid than usual, simply nodded and sat down on the nearest chair as she watched him disappear by the staircase.

She was glad that she came with him. In one day she got to hear both Juvia's and Gajeel's stories and she was grateful to be trusted like that. Granted, Gajeel probably told her his story as an apology, but she still thought it was too much. She could forgive him for losing that notebook right here in this place. She knew why he insists on coming back and looking. Gajeel didn't let on much about how he really felt about Metallicana's disappearance but she knew that he must really be broken by it. Up until now, he still hasn't given up hope that perhaps there will be a sign or message to tell him where that mysterious man went. Levy felt bad leading him back to a place with so much painful memories, so she simply decided to smile and offer to get some snacks with him before they both went home. Maybe they can have some takoyaki or something on the way, just to loosen up the mood-

"Levy!"

She stood up in surprise when she heard Gajeel call her from upstairs. "Y-Yes?"

"Are you alright?!" his voice sounded strangled, and she can hear faint cursing from him.

She blinked, quickly looking around. "Y-Yeah, why won't I be?"

His footsteps were loud as he ran downstairs, gripping his bag tightly. "Grab your bag, we're gettin' outta here. Now."

Levy was quick to sling her bag over her shoulders, but she was hesitant. "W-Why? What happened? Did you find anything-"

"We're being watched. Someone's sneakin' around the house. Let's go."

"Who-"

"Probably Phantom. Stop talkin'. We have to get back out on the open."

She nodded quickly and wordlessly, then followed him outside the house. She closed the door behind her and clung to the hem of his school shirt as they started to walk out the gates.

Just a few steps from the house, Gajeel felt a sharp tug on his shirt shortly before hearing his companion's muffled yelp. He whirled around to see two rugged-looking young men dragging Levy roughly towards the nearby alley.

"Shit." - he cursed automatically. "Levy!" Not wasting any second, Gajeel dropped his bag and ran after them.

* * *

Lucy knew that being rich with a famous name, she will always be a target of kidnappers and other criminals. There had been several attempts on her as a young girl, but all those attempts failed. Her father had always assured her the best security. She could safely say that her father was too strict and suffocating, but her assured safety was something she appreciated.

That afternoon, as they got shoved roughly back against one of Magnolia's dark and empty alleyways, Lucy wished she still had Loke trailing after her everywhere.

_'Four girls against five... six... seven... eight... oh there's the last one. Hopefully. Nine guys with baseball bats and pipes and daggers and... is that a brass knuckle? This is a nice day.'_

Lucy was trying to keep her calm, pressed against Cana, Juvia and Erza. 'Erza might be able to take all of them down', she thought. 'But what if she couldn't?'

"What do you guys want?" - the red-haired student council president asked in a low voice. Erza and Cana were standing protectively in front of the other two girls. Lucy had never seen Cana fight before, and Juvia was trembling beside her. The blonde herself knew that she was in a state of panic. What do they do? Scream? They're way past the town square and the nearest police station was Gildarts's booth - both places were far now. The streets were relatively empty, and if there were people passing by, the alleyway was way too dark for someone to really notice what was going on.

"We're here to see how Juvia-chan is doing!" one of them said, in a falsely cheerful tone. The girls paused. Juvia cocked her head to look at them nervously.

"Who are you?" Cana snarled.

"We're from the Phantom Lord gang." the same guy said, stepping forward with a sly smile on his face. "We came to see our old friend-"

"Juvia's doing fine. And you've seen her now." Erza cut him off quickly. "Now may we go?"

"We hoped to talk to Juvia-chan, just us old friends, but then... you pretty ladies won't leave her side so we just figured you might as well join in."

"What do you want from Juvia?" - this time, it was Juvia who stepped forward, standing in front of Erza and Cana. She studied the guys carefully. "Juvia doesn't know any of you."

The leader shrugged. "We're... kinda new. Master Jose sent us to talk to Juvia-chan."

"Juvia fails to see what Master Jose could possibly want from Juvia."

"The Iron Dragon won't answer our questions. Master Jose figured Juvia-chan would know."

"You're the ones who beat up Gajeel-kun the other night?" - the girls noted a change in Juvia's demeanor. Up until Gajeel was mentioned, the girl was timid and afraid - now they sensed a hint of anger.

"Well, like we said, he wouldn't tell us what we want-"

"What do you want?!"

Instinctively, Erza and Cana made to touch either of Juvia's arms.

"Where are the rest of the Element 4?"

"Juvia doesn't know."

"They all left. After Gajeel Redfox took off with you, the other three also defected. Master Jose wants you kids back. The four of you and Redfox, you were his best kids. We think Juvia-chan knows where the other three are. After all, they were your friends..."

"Juvia hasn't heard from Totomaru-kun or Sol-san or Aria-san since Juvia left. Juvia cannot answer your question."

"Master Jose was pretty confident that you'd know. We trust our leader."

The girls took another step back as they saw the men ready their weapons and flex their kunckles. Lucy observed Erza balling up her fists and Cana slowly moving her hand towards the nearby trashcans.

"He told us not to hesitate to use force if asking doesn't work." the leader of their captors continued.

"I'm warning you." Erza said, stepping forward to stand beside Juvia again.

Cana continued, "If you lay a hand on any of us, things will get ugly."

The guys laughed.

"You're four pretty and helpless ladies!" one of them mocked. "You wouldn't want us to hurt those gorgeous faces, wouldn't ya?"

"Lucy," Cana whispered. Lucy didn't move her head, but she glanced at the brunette. "On three, scream. We charge. Use anything to hit 'em, take 'em out, out of the way. We're running and we'll head straight to Gildarts."

Lucy simply nodded. She caught Erza's glance. A reassurance. Erza would do anything to get them all out. Everything will be fine.

"One." Cana whispered. "Two. Three."

Lucy screamed - a shrill, scared scream - "AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The guys immediately charged towards them to silence her.

The leader of the group of guys swung his metal pipe down and Erza stepped forward and gripped it before it hit her, effectively catching the guy by surprise. She used the weapon to shove her attacker towards a nearby wall.

This caught everyone else in surprise. Erza claimed the pipe for herself, letting the first guy fall to the ground in an unconscious heap, then said, "Anyone else?"

All at once, the other guys stepped forward to attack. On instinct, Cana pulled Lucy with her and ran forward, hoping to dash through any opening. Erza, still holding the metal pipe, shielded the two girls from a baseball bat. She struggled with the guy and Lucy and Cana quickly slipped past them. Juvia quickly got down and stuck out her leg to trip two guys at once, then just as quickly, the blunette twisted one of the guys' arms painfully behind his back and took his dagger. She used the handle to knock him out, while Cana hit the other one with a trash bin lid she grabbed before they came running.

_'Four down.'_

The girls found themselves standing side by side and huddled closely together, while the rest of the guys were looking at them tentatively, weapons raised. There were only five of them then.

Erza was holding the pipe as if it was her bamboo sword, Cana and Lucy were holding the trash bin lid protectively in front of them, and Juvia was poised to utilize the dagger.

"Are you guys sure you still wanna do this?" Cana said, smirking.

The guys seemed to act the exact opposite of what Cana intended. They all just charged at the same time, determined not to be beaten up by "helpless" girls.

Lucy and Cana were quick to move. Cana hit her attacker on the head with the trash bin lid to knock him out of the way, then pulled Lucy with her. Lucy hit another guy with her school bag, but got pulled back when the guy grabbed Cana's shirt. The girls shrieked and when a fist braced with brass knuckles charged towards them, but Lucy grabbed the trash bin lid just in time to shield themselves.

Erza was trying to hold off two guys with baseball bats, visibly struggling because of their size and because the metal pipe's weight was taking a toll on her arms. Juvia was also struggling to incapacitate the last guy - she was holding him in a headlock but he was strong and Juvia hadn't fought in so long.

Then, as if it was on cue, Juvia managed to knock the guy out just as Lucy threw a bottle of hot sauce towards their attacker's face.

"Holy shit, you bitch!"

"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?!" Cana cried as she helped Lucy kick away the fumbling guy.

"I don't know! It was in my pocket so I threw it at him!"

"Does Natsu wear your skirt?!"

"Maybe!" - then Lucy screamed again as the last two guys ran towards them.

"Run!" Erza shouted, just as she managed to fend off the two guys she was fighting with. Cana and Lucy took off separately, sticking to opposite sides of the alleyway. Just as the guys who were attacking Erza stepped back to deliver another blow, Juvia knocked one of them unconscious with her folded pink umbrella and then bodily charged against the other one, crashing the guy towards the nearby wall.

The girls stood panting above the mostly unconscious and struggling bodies of their attackers, all looking at each other disbelievingly.

Cana chuckled. "Lucy, tell Natsu I'll pay for that hot sauce."

Lucy nodded shakily. "Put back that lid. It's probably government property."

Cana threw away her 'shield' and straightened her skirt.

Erza looked around, panting. She put down the pipe she was holding. "Good job, everyone. I don't know how we did it, but they're down." The red-head sighed. "Cana, I can see your bra."

"Oh, _please_. When can't you see my bra?"

Lucy laughed, while Cana simply clicked her tongue and tried to fix her school shirt.

Juvia, however, was gripping her umbrella, trembling silently.

"Juvia?" Cana said. The other two girls also looked at the blunette. "Hey, it's okay. They'd probably hurt us if we didn't try-"

"Gajeel-kun." she mumbled, voice shaking badly.

"What?"

"O-One of them said they have Gajeel-kun right now. Back in the old turf." she was trying not to sob and was failing badly. "T-They have Gajeel-kun! Juvia has to go there-"

"No, you're not." Erza said firmly, already walking past them. "You handled these guys here but there could be more of them in there. We're going to Gildarts. Now. He'll help us."

Cana and Lucy each gave Juvia a comforting squeeze on her shoulders.

"Gajeel's strong. He'll make it until Gildarts gets there." Lucy assured, still shaken by what happened.

Juvia nodded. The girls practically ran back towards the police station, Cana already calling her father on their way.

* * *

"Gajeel-kun!" - everyone looked at Juvia when the blunette stood up, holding her phone to her ear.

She had been trying to contact her roommate for half an hour. Gildarts had sent police officers to the gang's turf with Juvia giving out the exact location, but the officers found neither the gang nor Gajeel. They even searched Metallicana's house because Juvia thought they might have used the abandoned place.

Cana was sitting on Gildarts' chair, her father's coat draped on her shoulders to cover up for her torn shirt. Lucy, Erza, Loke, Gray and Makarov all sat nearby.

"Gajeel-kun, are you-... Juvia's alright. Yes, Juvia was attacked too... Juvia's okay. Juvia is in Gildarts-san's station with Lucy-san, Cana-san and Erza-san... Is Gajeel-kun alright? Where is Gajeel-kun?"

Everyone listened as the blunette talked with her roommate over the phone. They all breathed out in relief upon seeing Juvia sigh and smile reassuringly at them, then hung up.

"Gajeel-kun's alright. He's on his way here." she said, wiping her tears. Gray stood up, rubbing her back comfortingly. Juvia sniffed once and then leaned in to her boyfriend's embrace.

"That's good, Juvia-chan." Gildarts pat the blunette on the head. "What did he say about Phantom?"

"Gajeel-kun said he'll explain when he gets here." Juvia said, fidgeting. "Will Gildarts-san tell the other officers to go back?"

"I'll tell them to stand by. We'll have to hear Gajeel out first. He might know where they are."

After a few minutes, Gajeel came in, panting, Levy clinging to him. Levy's clothes were rumpled, while Gajeel's uniform was dirty and slightly torn. He was sporting another set of bruises, but there was nothing that looked too bad.

"Gajeel-kun!" Juvia exclaimed, quickly running towards her roommate and throwing her arms around him. Gajeel flinched slightly but didn't draw away and simply let her hug him. "Juvia was so worried!"

"Levy-chan?" Lucy voiced out what everyone was thinking - why was Levy there?

Instead, Levy simply ran towards the blonde and hugged her. "Lu-chan! I'm so glad you're all okay! We were so worried! We rushed here as soon as we could." Before Lucy could ask her anything, the lithe blunette launched herself towards a very confused Erza.

"Gajeel, are you alright?" Gildarts said, finally taking charge. The raven-head nodded timidly, looking down and avoiding everyone's gaze while his roommate checked him for injuries. "Take a seat, son."

Gajeel sat on the chair by Gildarts' desk. Cana offered him a glass of cold water, but he simply shook his head. Juvia sat right beside him while Levy took Juvia's previous seat next to Gray.

"Juvia-chan was attacked. She was with Lucy, Erza and Cana." Gildarts explained carefully. The others stayed silent. Gajeel nodded. "There were nine guys and they said they were from Phantom."

"Nine?!" both Gajeel and Levy exclaimed.

"Thankfully, the girls got out mostly unharmed." Gildarts said quickly. Gajeel looked towards the girls. "Well, they broke a nail or two and got some bruises... Cana-chan suffered some wardrobe malfunction..."

Cana huffed, pulling her father's coat closer around herself.

"They managed to... incapacitate... their attackers enough to be able to run away. Don't ask me how they did that-"

"Juvia and Erza knocked them out." Cana supplied. "Juvia said they're probably new recruits. We're just lucky."

Gildarts nodded. "But before they left, they told Juvia-chan that they have you, Gajeel. Was that true?"

"Yeah." Gajeel nodded, balling up his fists. Beside him, Juvia was rubbing his arm worriedly.

"Where did they take you?"

"The old Phantom turf."

"I sent my officers there. They found nothing in the old Phantom turf and Metallicana's house."

"I don't care. I'll find them and beat them all up into a pulp."

To everyone's surprise, the raven-head stood up and headed for the door. Almost everyone stood up as well and shouted his name, asking him to stop.

Gildarts was quick to place a hand on the young man's shoulder, but Gajeel shoved him off roughly and shouted, "DON'T FUCK WITH ME!"

"We're trying to help you!" Cana shot back.

Gildarts raised a hand for his daughter to stand back and this time he gripped Gajeel's arm more firmly. "Sit back down, son. You have to trust us here-"

"I do, but this is MY fight!" Gajeel said, brushing the police officer off again. Everyone else was looking at him with startled expressions. "They beat me up last week because I happened to pass by - fine. That's fucking fine. But today they almost got Levy and now they attack Juvia and these girls and that's just fucking low. And that's all because I refused to give 'em some fucking information."

"You won't be able to give those information because you don't know either." Erza pointed out.

He shook his head. "Juvia wouldn't know shit about the others - but I do. I know where the other three are and no one's getting that out from me. I'm going back in there to kick those bastards' fucking teeth in and make it fucking clear to them that no matter what they do, I'm not goin' to give them the satisfaction. I'm gonna beat them all up until they can't move because they touched my friends."

After a beat, Gray stood up. "I'm going with you."

"Gray!" Erza exclaimed disbelievingly. "You're not going in there!"

"Nobody's going in there." Gildarts interrupted.

"They hurt my girlfriend, my roommate, and my best friends!" Gray shouted. "I've been sitting here for an hour trying to help myself but now that Gajeel's going back in there, I'm going with him to give them a piece of my mind-"

Loke tried to reason out with his friend. "Gray, dude, that's really not-"

"You're angry too, Loke. You can go with us. Someone tell Natsu and I tell you he's gonna give them hell-"

"Don't you dare stand up." Lucy said lowly, grabbing her bodyguard's arm. Loke laid a hand on top of hers to reassure her that he wasn't leaving her.

"And nobody calls Natsu until all of this is over because God knows what he's going to do." Erza followed up firmly.

"Gray-sama, Gajeel-kun, please." Juvia begged.

Both raven-heads turned to Juvia and said, "They hurt you!"

"Both of you kids will sit down right now or I'm going to suspend both of you." - they all tensed when, for the first time after he arrived, Makarov spoke.

It took a few more seconds before Gray grudgingly went back to his seat, Levy gripping his shoulder tightly. He looked down, still frowning, avoiding his girlfriend's scared look.

"Gajeel." Gildarts repeated, this time placing his hands on the young man's shoulders. "You don't have to do this alone, son. I know that you don't want this to happen again. I feel the same. My daughter was hurt too. Now I've sent my men in there and I personally won't stop until these guys are arrested or put into probation for attacking our girls. Trust me. Let us grown-ups handle this."

Gajeel refused to look into the man's eyes. He was still furious - his fists were balled up and he was breathing heavily.

"Gajeel." Makarov said, watching Juvia reach out to grip her roommate's fisted hand. "You can trust Gildarts."

Finally, the young man nodded and Gildarts let him go, patting him on the back. "Good man."

Everyone else relaxed considerably. Gildarts made a move to call his colleagues to update them and Gajeel was about to sit down when they heard the roar of a motorcycle outside the station. They all turned towards the entrance as a huge figure stepped inside.

"Yo." Laxus said, looking around the police station. "Didn't expect everyone to still be here. Don't you guys have class tomorrow?"

"Laxus?" Erza blinked.

The blonde looked at Gildarts. "Reporting that I beat twenty or so guys to a bloody pulp." he said, making everyone pause abruptly. "Maybe your friends can pick them up now."

"You did what?!" Gildarts asked, gaping at the young man.

"Beat them all up. I was having a shit day and then gramps tells me the girls were attacked. I figured I can relieve some stress and when I got there-"

"Where?"

"The Phantom turf. They never transferred, those idiots."

"My men are there, the place is empty."

"Well they must be strong, to be able to run away after that." Laxus shrugged, taking out a cigarette. He turned to the girls. "Those guys were pretty bruised when I got there, though. Did you girls do that? They said you did."

"You went there?!" they exclaimed.

"Yeah."

"I knew I shouldn't have informed you." Makarov rubbed his temples and sighed.

Laxus shrugged again. "Those scums picked the wrong girls to hit on. And I was in a really bad mood. Of course I'm gonna go there and beat 'em up. They hurt my little sisters."

"Your little sisters hurt 'em too." Cana pointed out.

"Your shirt's _ruined_." Gray said.

Cana argued, "I'm _alive_."

"You still got hurt - it still shouldn't have happened to you girls." Loke continued, then looked at Laxus. "Thanks, Laxus."

"That's it?" Laxus looked around, then at Gajeel and Gray. "You guys aren't complaining that I didn't take you with me to fight?"

"I was going to complain but I might get expelled." Gray grumbled. He was still angry at what happened. He looked across the room towards Juvia, who was wringing her hands - hands that were still trembling. She shouldn't have gone through what just happened.

"You shouldn't have done that." Gajeel said lowly, glaring at Laxus. "They were after me. They attacked Juvia because of me. I should have done what you did!" They all looked on dumbfounded as the guy grabbed the blonde's collar and shouted angrily. "I should've been the one to fucking beat 'em bloody and-"

"Why didn't you?" Laxus cut him off roughly. "They told me they had you. You were right there and you could've beaten them right then and there too. Why're you here and unharmed - did you run away?"

Gajeel swallowed before saying a definitive: "Yes."

"So the next question here is this: Why?" Laxus said, challenging the younger man. "You're a coward. Why'd you fucking run?"

"Because Levy was there. They got her and I went after them and as soon as I got her back, we ran."

"You should've let her go. She can run by herself. You should've gone back and gave them what they deserved-"

"I figured that what they deserved could _wait_!" Gajeel withdrew his hold on the man's shirt and stood back. "I'm not risking her! I never run. I fight back until I fucking bleed to death in the gutter but it's different now! I have her, and I have them - what mattered the most was to get to them. When they told me that they sent more to get Juvia-... I'd always fight back, but not when I have to-... when I have to protect-"

"You did good."

Gajeel stopped, looking up at the guy who was smirking down at him knowingly.

Laxus punched his shoulder lightly and exchanged a look with Gildarts, who simply shrugged. "Got Levy as safe as possible and rushed to help Juvia and the others. I'd have done the same. 'Sides, don't get involved in too much bullshit. You're graduating. You don't want to spoil that, do you?"

Gajeel was still startled by the blonde's sudden change in demeanor. Was Laxus... Had Laxus been... testing him? "Y-Yeah..."

"Don't act like you can do everything." Laxus said, also directing his look at Gray. "You're not the eldest and strongest of this bunch. We can take care of things better than you can."

"Same goes for you, doing my job." Gildarts said.

"Shit day and boredom. Next time I'll call sooner." Laxus huffed arrogantly at the cop, but Gildarts simply shook his head. Some things never change. The blonde paused when his phone rang and he checked the message. "I gotta go."

"You really have no idea where they scampered off to?" Gildarts asked, letting Juvia pull Gajeel back to his seat.

"Couldn't care less." Laxus said. "But if you ever find them, let 'em know that next time they try and touch a hair on these girls' heads, I'm gonna find the new hideout or whatever and I'm taking these girls' boyfriends with me." - he glanced at the girls, who were smiling at him. Gray also looked satisfied with that proposal. "In speaking of-.. Where's Natsu? Nevermind." Turning back to Gildarts, he said. "And tell 'em maybe that the best part of that is I'm gonna invite _Mirajane_ to come join the party."

Gildarts laughed, while the others looked at Laxus, scandalized.

Bringing Mirajane along - now that's how you make a legitimate threat.

Laxus looked at his grandfather, who was looking at him measuringly. "I'm sleeping over at Freed's. See 'ya."

They all watched silently as the blonde went out the little station.

"Use protection!" Cana called out, just as the motorcycle roared to life.

"Gildarts, your daughter's drunk again!" Laxus announced, before speeding off.

"Are you drunk?" Gildarts asked.

Cana shook her head, smiling innocently.

"Well then," Makarov said, finally standing up. "Erza and I will go home now. Gildarts, please keep us posted."

"Roger, principal."

The old man looked at his students. "You children stay safe now. You all need rest. We've all had a long day." - then, looking solely at Gajeel, "Gajeel, we'll talk tomorrow."

The student nodded timidly.

Erza waved goodbye to her friends and bowed politely at Gildarts as she followed her guardian to head home.

Levy also took her leave shortly afterwards. Gildarts asked Gray to walk the blunette home just to be safe, and the raven-head quickly relented. He promised Juvia that he would call later in the night. Lucy and Loke also left after receiving an impatient call from Natsu telling Lucy to go home because dinner was ready and he ahd Happy fell asleep waiting for her in her flat.

"So that's why he wasn't picking up."

"Give him some slack. We're having good dinner tonight."

"Gee, thanks, lion."

Lastly, both Juvia and Gajeel thanked Gildarts for his help and patience before the roommates headed home.

"You're not going yet, Cana-chan?" Gildarts asked, when he was finally left alone with his daughter.

Cana sighed, slumping down on the desk and closing her eyes. "Not yet."

"Are you alright, dear?"

"I'm okay." she said silently. "I was just thinking back to what Gajeel said..."

"Hm?" Gildarts asked, looking down at the brunette.

"We're lucky to have him."

"You are."

"We are." she repeated, smiling at him more sincerely, and then looking out towards the street again. "I'll have to buy a new uniform top."

"If you need money for that, just ask. I wouldn't want Cana-chan to go to school... err... baring her assets."

"Oh. You're afraid of my boobs."

"I'm not. I'm afraid that other boys would oggle Cana-chan's... yeah."

The brunette chuckled. "Also... I want dinner at Yaji-jii's."

"Hm... I still have to talk to those officers looking for the Phantom guys..."

Cana pouted. "But I wanna go eat dinner with Papa."

Gildarts paused abruptly, a bright red blush on his face. "F-F-Five minutes, Cana-chan!"

At that, Cana laughed rowdily, even making a random passerby look towards the police station in curiosity. "You're so easy!"

He ruffled her hair. "That's 'cause you know how to operate me."

* * *

The next day, Gajeel found himself knocking on the door to the principal's office. The old man was sipping tea calmly when the student went in.

"So am I in trouble?" Gajeel asked, straight to point as he slumped down in the couch, not looking at the principal. "You never call me out here except to talk to me about how I'm doing. And our schedule's still next week. So I'm in trouble, right?"

"Of course not." Makarov said. "Are you feeling calmer now? About what happened yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"How about Juvia-chan?"

"She's not really a fighter. She felt upset hurting those guys yesterday but Frosty talked her into feeling better."

Makarov nodded, putting down his cup and folding his hands neatly in his desk. "Let me tell you something, child."

Gajeel looked up at the man.

"What you did yesterday was important, Gajeel. For you and for those girls. Laxus was right. He would've done the same. It was the right thing."

"I'd sleep better if I did the revenge thing myself, though."

"You wouldn't sleep at all if something had happened Levy or Juvia or any of those girls."

The young man grumbled inaudibly. The principal had a point. "So why am I here?"

Makarov finally came to his point. "What are your plans after graduation?"

Gajeel stopped. The question caught him off guard. He'd never thought about that... well, he had, but just as passing thoughts. He always brushed them off and kept himself busy with what was happening at the moment.

"I got no plans. Never looked that far." he said. "Got no family to ask either and-"

"This... Metallicana person." Makarov started. "He was your family."

Gajeel gave a momentary paused before nodding. "But he left and he's gone. So like I said, I got no family-"

"We're your family, Gajeel."

The student looked at the man with wide eyes.

Makarov grinned with his trademark easygoing smile. "Well?"

"But you're-"

"I'm quite sure Juvia-chan has plans of leaving town for college."

"She doesn't talk about it, but I'm sure she'll go to university and take art or something."

"Where would you go then, when she leaves that flat? Are you going to follow her?"

He shook his head, looking down. He really hadn't thought too far. It even slipped his mind that he and Juvia will probably go separate ways soon. No more tasty meals and fleece blankets and errands to buy crochet thread - no annoying weird best friend to bug him and take care of him. It left a bitter feeling in him that he tried to will away.

Makarov looked at the young man, who suddenly grew silent. It seems that it was the first time that Gajeel let the facts sink in.

"I just called you here to tell you that you can think of us as family now." the old man said, catching the student's attention. "Your friends are willing to help you in any way they can. We all are. And-"

Gajeel quickly argued, "I don't need-"

"It's not pity, son." Makarov cut him off, already expecting the raven-head's retort. "We just care. We know, too - and we understand. Just say the word and we'll try to work things out. You're one of my children, and I do my best for my children."

Gajeel simply stared.

"Is that understood, Gajeel?"

Slowly, he nodded.

"What do you have to say to that, then?"

The student sighed, disgruntled. "I'll probably be a bother."

Makarov chuckled. "Probably."

"But I'll try hard, too."

The old man smiled lightly when he saw a rare grateful look on the young man's face. "Very well." he said, picking up his tea again. "I don't want to keep you in here. You have festival preparations to worry about. Off you go, child."

Gajeel stood up and headed for the door, pausing on his way out to look at the old man. "Principal."

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

Makarov smiled. "For what?"

"For... letting me in, I guess. The family thing is crazy, but it's kinda working, so damn."

And then he was back in the hallway. Just as he was closing the door, he heard Bisca's voice ring across the corridors, calling out to him from their classroom's doorway.

"There you are, Gajeel! We need someone tall enough to stick the cloth to the ceiling!"

Gajeel smirked as he answered. "Yeah, yeah - stop bossing people around!"

He saw Cana peek her head out too. "Get your ass back here! Poor Mysto's struggling!"

He put his hands back in his pockets and walked back towards his classroom. As soon as he got there, he saw Mystogan having trouble following Bisca's instructions. When Mysto noticed Gajeel, the blue-haired young man cast a relieved sigh.

Cana shoved a bunch of stuff on the the Iron Dragon's arms and started rattling out instructions, all the while ranting about Jet and Droy going to help the computer club just when they were needed most.

'Some kind of family you gave me, old man. I mean, look at this drunk bossing me around.'

"Hey, are you listening?"

He blinked, looking down at Bisca. "Not really, no."

"I said we're going to Mira's tonight to watch Raijinshuu play. Are you coming?"

But then, Gajeel knew, while he flinched at all their crazy antics, he really wouldn't have this family any other way.

.

.

.

**A/N: **How's that?

The Fruit Ninja joke with Juvia was from a something I shared with a friend while she was playing the game on her phone: _"Juvia should have a game like this that will let her slash all her love rivals. I mean just the sound of this shit is satisfying."_

I almost had Mira team up with Laxus right then and there but I kinda felt bad for those Phantom guys, so I gave them just one for now. And yeah, I suck at writing action scenes.

**A note to all reviewers: DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR ENGLISH, NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS~ I am not a native English speaker myself so let's all screw up together! (kidding, but really, don't say sorry - you're all presh and I love you either way [sends virtual hug and squishes])**

.

**Coming up next:  
"Levy's Boys"**

The title says it all.  
More Levy.


	14. Track 14: Wipe Your Eyes

**A/N:** It's time for Jet and Droy to get some love, y'all!

I'm back and I have a nice little chap for everyone. For Jet and Droy, let's not deny it - the guys' problems in the FT universe can just as well be the problem of many good guys in real life. What I call the bestfriendzone. There's that one sweet girl they've always cared about since elementary school, who they eventually fall in love with but ultimately will never have.

But more important than that, I want to highlight the friendship between team Shadow Gear. I want to highlight the friendship between everyone, actually. This chapter is about best friends. And how they're the actual best. Like really. They can be overprotective, overbearing jerks, they can be sweet cutie-pies always there to hang out with and be stupid with you, or they can be your annoying twin out to destroy your life plans, but they really are the best.

This is dedicated to my own best friend who just got out of the hospital last weekend - the idiot almost died and might as well have killed me from heartbreak too. He's okay now - ruining my life as per usual. Wouldn't have it any other way.

And a shout-out to adryanna's echo, my lovely beta. I missed her and I'm glad she's back because that means I get to make a lesser fool of myself~ VICTORY!

Won't keep you guys long. Here's the chapter and I hope you like it.

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 14: Wipe Your Eyes  
**..aka "Levy's Boys"

_"Your broken heart requires all of my attention,_  
_'cause something isn't right - I don't wanna fight you."  
_- Maroon 5

.

The bookstore was a quiet little spot in the Magnolia town square. It was much like a school's library, except it was relatively livelier. That afternoon, Lucy was standing behind the cash register, absently watching the few students who came in to browse the shelves. It was quite the boring job because the establishment wasn't exactly the best-selling place in the town square and the people who frequented it were not the most social of folks, but Lucy was grateful enough that Gray had found her an easy part-time job with a respectable pay so she decided not to complain. She owed Gray and Cana too much for finding her jobs.

She sighed for the umpteenth time during her shift. A few seconds passed before her cellphone rang. It was Erza. Lucy simply assumed that it was another student council concern. They were quite busy, after all.

"Moshi mosh-"

_[ 'Lucy! What should I do?!' ]_

Lucy blinked. "Yes, Erza?"

_[ 'I need your help! I... I just noticed it now but... but since the Phantom thing, I...- Jellal-' ]_

The blonde tensed upon hearing "Jellal" and "Phantom" in the same sentence. "Why, what happened?!"

Lucy heard Erza breathe deeply before speaking again. _[ 'I lost Jellal's present! The rose isn't here anymore - I think-... I think I dropped it while fighting those guys...!' ]_

Lucy sighed. So it was just that. Leave it to Erza to panic about the little things. If it was Phantom attacking Jellal, Lucy was sure that the red-head would just barge in there clad in shining armor and rescue the guy. "You're sure?"

_[ 'Pretty much. I mean, it was on my pocket while we were fighting, so-' ]_

The blonde was patient. She had to be, as the constant company of Natsu, Gray and the red-haired student council president. "Erza, I'm sure Jellal wouldn't mind. What matters most to him is that you're safe."

_[ 'But that was the first present he gave me after coming back here and I just lost it like that-' ]_

"While defending yourself. Remember?" Lucy reassured.

_[ '...Y-Yeah...' ]_

"Now calm down. It doesn't suit you."

_[ 'It's just... I liked that dangle and it's...um... sad to lose it that way...' ]_

"I know, but I'm sure he'll understand."

_[ 'You know, now I actually kinda feel that those guys deserved what Laxus did to them.' ]_

Lucy chuckled. "Yeah, they had that coming. Are you calm now?"

_[ 'Yeah. I p-p-panicked. That's so embarrassing. Thanks, Lucy.' ]_

"Anytime." Lucy smiled lightly. "Oh, I have to go back to work. Bye now." She hung up and quickly pocketed her phone just as a student walked towards her and laid several books on the counter. Lucy kept the amused grin on her face, still thinking about Erza's mini breakdown. The red-head's voice had been panicked and Lucy could just imagine the other girl's flushed face. It was so adorable and silly that Erza, for all her strictness, could be so innocent and fidgety with certain things.

After several other people lined up to pay, Lucy focused back on her work. By the end of her shift, only a few more people had purchased books. It was an easy day for her. The blonde bid her goodbyes to her manager as she was getting ready to leave. She put on her jacket, slung her bag on her shoulders and stepped out of the shop. Natsu was standing by the sidewalk, engrossed in a game on his PSP.

"Hey, flame-brain." she greeted, smiling as she approached him.

Natsu stayed focused on his game. "Yo, lemme get to a save point, 'kay?"

Lucy shrugged and crossed her arms across her chest and stood by patiently. After a few moments, Natsu finished up and put his console back in his pocket. "All done?"

"Yep." he grinned, offering his arm to her as he adjusted his scarf on his neck. "Let's go!"

The young woman simply smiled back and wrapped her arms around his sleeve as they fell into step and started the walk home. "Did you wait long?"

"Not really. How's work?"

"Boring." she rolled her eyes. "I thought I'd get to talk to more bookworms but nope, they just go in, look at the shelves, and buy..."

"Not all bookworms talk a lot, not like you and Levy, ya know." he said.

"I know." Lucy said promptly, then grinned. "Hey, listen to this. Erza called. She was panicking."

"Erza?" Natsu blinked. "Why, what happened?"

"Apparently, during our little skirmish with the Phantom guys, her phone dangle got lost, and she's quite upset." she said in an amused tone.

"The phone dangle as in the tiny flower thing?"

"Yup. The one Jellal-kun gave her."

Natsu laughed. "And she panicked?"

"Yes. She was very distraught."

"Damn, she's got it bad, huh?"

She giggled, clinging closer to him and leaning her head on his arm. "One of these days, I bet she'll come to us in a panic asking what dress to wear for a date."

Natsu sniggered. "Promise me you guys will take a picture. Or a vid."

"Okay." Lucy nodded, looking at him. "You guys should stop teasing her, though."

"That would take all the fun out of it!" he pouted at her.

"C'mon, it's fun but give her some slack."

"We're not teasin' her that much now." Natsu reasoned out. "Hey, I'm hungry. Igneel said the dinner's getting cold."

"He's waiting?"

"'Course he is. I was cooking at the Dragon and you're at the bookstore-"

"You should've told him to eat already!"

"He insisted. Ya know how he is."

Lucy rolled her eyes and was about to say something when her phone rang again. They momentarily stopped walking as she got it out to check. "Oh."

"Loke?" Natsu asked.

"No, it's Droy." Lucy blinked while the pink-head raised an eyebrow. As she answered it, they both kept walking. "Moshi moshi. Lucy speaking."

_[ 'Err... hi, Lucy. It's Droy.' ]_

"Hey. What's up?" she asked in her usual cheery tone, while Natsu listened silently.

_[ 'Um, has.. has Levy called you or anything?' ]_

"Levy-chan?"

_[ 'Yeah. A call or a text or something?' ]_

"No, not really. Haven't heard from her since I left early after school. Why? Something wrong?"

_[ 'Oh. Nothing's wrong, really. Just checking.' ]_

"Checking on what?"

_[ 'Um, stuff. But she hasn't called you so... yeah. Thanks anyway, Lucy.' ]_

"Okay..?" she said, tentative. She glanced at Natsu and he was still watching curiously. "If there's anything else I can help you with, just call me later, okay? I'm still on the way home with Natsu."

_[ 'Got it. Take care on your way. Natsu too. Bye, Lucy.' ]_

"Bye." She waited until he hung up. She quickly turned to Natsu. "He asked if I had heard anything from Levy. Then said it's nothing. Weird."

"I'm sure if something happened, they'll tell." Natsu shrugged. "Maybe Levy's just busy."

"Maybe." Lucy nodded. They walked in silence for a while until Natsu's stomach growled.

"Should've brought the bike." he mumbled.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Should've gone home early and shouldn't have waited for someone..."

"No way! You guys got attacked last time and you were just lucky that there were stuff lyin' around for you to hit those guys with. Gildarts says they haven't caught all of the jerks yet so I'm not lettin' you outta my sight."

She sighed, patiently patting his arm. As much as she hated being doted upon, she wasn't about to complain when Natsu was being especially considerate. It made her feel safe without feeling strangled. It was a nice feeling, Lucy thought. "Thanks."

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "Luigi, don't be weird. Resist a little and get mad."

This time, she 'patted' his arm again. Hard enough to make him yelp in pain. "OW!"

"You're the one being weird." she said.

"Your weird is contagious."

They spent the rest of the way home bickering like usual.

* * *

"Laxus kept teasing me last night." Erza complained with an annoyed expression on her face as they ate lunch in their classroom. Erza, Lucy, Juvia, Gray and Natsu had pushed their desks together to make a makeshift dining table. "Apparently he heard everything I told Lucy."

Juvia giggled while Gray and Natsu laughed loudly at their childhood friend. Lucy simply shook her head in amusement. "Well, you were kinda shouting so it's hard not to hear you, Erza..."

"Still. He's no different than Natsu and Gray." Erza huffed, adjusting her glasses.

"Hey!" the boys whined.

Juvia and Lucy contentedly ate their lunch as they watched the other three bicker, call each other nicknames, and even recall embarrassing childhood memories. Even when Levy walked towards them with her own lunchbox, the three did not stop, so Juvia and Lucy took it upon themselves to shift their positions and make space for the blunette.

"Some things never change..." Levy said with a small smile in her face. As she opened her lunchbox and picked up her chopsticks, she asked the two girls, "What is it this time?"

"Oh, they're teasing her about being a lady." Lucy said, grinning.

Juvia sighed. "Gray-sama and Natsu-san really won't leave Erza-san alone..."

"At least they're not chasing each other." Levy said.

Then the three girls watched as Gray tapped Erza's head and smirked, "Tag, you're it!"

Before Erza could tag Natsu, the pink-head stood up and ran away, followed shortly by Gray, and Erza put down her chopsticks and chased the boys.

Levy breathed out. "I spoke too soon."

Levy, Juvia and Lucy ate in peace and ignored the shouting and crashing noises in the background. After a few minutes, however, the crashing noises became unbearable and other students had started complaining, so Lucy said, "You three, the break's almost over! You might wanna eat your lunch!"

The addressed students stopped and automatically looked over at the nearby wall clock. True, there were only roughly ten minutes left until classes would resume. Coming back to her senses faster than the other two, Erza managed to hit Natsu on the back and say, "It." before rushing back to her table. The boys quickly followed and the three hurried to finish their meals.

"Oh, I just remembered." Lucy said, looking at the girl beside her. "Levy, Droy called last night. Asking if I'd heard from you."

"They called me too." Erza followed up. "Same with Lucy. Asking for you. What was that about?"

The rest of the group looked curiously at Levy.

Levy paused for a moment before laughing uneasily and raising a hand to wave dismissively. "Ah, that was nothing! I.. Well, um, maybe he was about to ask for the usual, you know."

"What's the usual?" Juvia asked curiously.

"CD's!" Levy quickly said. "I borrowed some of his CD's and maybe he was about to ask me to give 'em back and... well... yeah..."

"Oh. Why does he have to ask Lucy and Erza?" Natsu asked.

Levy simply shrugged. "I slept early last night so I wasn't answering my phone."

Her friends simply nodded and dismissed it quickly. Pretty odd things really happened to them all sometimes.

"Did he reach you, then?" Everyone turned to Gray when he spoke. He was looking at Levy directly. "You know, did you get to talk to him?"

She stared back at her friend uneasily for a while, before nodding silently. "Y-yeah."

Before they could start up any other conversation, the bell rang, andNatsu, Gray and Erza went back to gobbling up what was left of their lunch.

Lucy and Juvia might have caught Levy frowning, but maybe that was just their imagination.

* * *

"Mira, what should a person do when that person has become a real jerk and shouted angrily at his small, helpless, gentle and kind best friend even though this small, helpless, gentle and kind best friend did nothing wrong and the person REALLY is a jerk for making the best friend cry and then didn't go after said best friend to apologize and hasn't said anything to the best friend for like 24 hours now?"

Mirajane stared at Droy, who had said it all in one breath before moodily eating another spoonful of parfait. Jet, sitting beside his best friend, sighed as he looked down at his iced coffee.

The barmaid frowned. "Oh my. Which of you did that to Levy?"

They both looked up at her.

Jet whined, "How did you know?"

The woman laughed lightly and patted the guy on the shoulder. "Instinct." - she said, although she meant to ask them if they really thought they would get away with such an obvious statement. Who else would both of them refer to as 'small, helpless, gentle and kind' except their best girl friend?

Both boys sighed.

"So," she started, resting her chin on her hands and smiling her usual gentle and encouraging smile. "What happened? I knew something was up when you showed up incomplete. You're missing your third piece."

"Jet shouted at her." Droy sighed, looking at his friend pointedly. "Why would someone shout at Levy?"

Mira looked at Jet, cocking her head to the side to indicate that she was listening.

"She was reckless and inconsiderate for that one time." Jet reasoned out. "But yes, I feel like shit for shouting at her. I got carried away, okay?"

"Still, man." Droy insisted. "You were too... rough."

"Well, why didn't you back her up?" Jet retorted, looking back at his friend. Mira's gaze trailed back to Droy as well. The guy was frowning deeply and avoided both his companions' gazes. "It's because you agree with everything I said and just didn't have the heart to tell her, right?"

"...Y-Yeah. I didn't think you had it in you to go at her that way, though-"

"I'm not angry at her! Geez, I told her so too but she thinks I'm mad at her anyway-"

"Because you raised your voice!"

"Heat of the moment!" - Jet reminded his friend. "I was so frustrated."

"Okay, wait up..." Mirajane raised both her hands before the two could start arguing too loudly. "Let's all calm down, okay? What really happened? Why were you two mad at Levy?"

"We're not mad!" the two corrected her.

The silver-haired barmaid smiled uneasily. "Um, okay... but well-" She was interrupted, however, when a new customer came in. She smiled apologetically at the two boys. "I'll get back to you, okay?"

They simply nodded and watched as Mirajane attended to the other customers.

"So what do we now?" Droy asked, when it became apparent that Mirajane would be occupied as more people filed inside the bar.

"You sure she hasn't told Erza or Lucy?"

"And Juvia. Well, they tell me they haven't heard anything from Levy but what if they're just covering up for her? You know girls."

Jet stirred his iced tea absently. "We should ask Gray."

"Gray?" Droy blinked.

"He's in the same class and he knows how to be discreet. If we ask Natsu, we're doomed."

Droy nodded. "That makes sense. What do we ask him?"

"How Levy's doing."

"She's doing fine." - at that, both guys turned to see Gray smirking at them, arms crossed across his chest. Behind him, Cana was also staring at them curiously. "But she's sad."

"Sad is not fine." Cana told him bluntly. "Sad is sad. It's never fine."

Gray rolled his eyes and then greeted the two other guys. "Yo."

* * *

The four friends bid goodbye to Mirajane and left the bar to head over to Yajima-san's. The teens ordered dinner and sat down on a table.

Jet and Droy watched as Cana and Gray argued about their food (said argument involved the use of sauces and pepper and even went as far as their electric bill) for five full minutes before the two finally started eating.

"So..." Jet started, glancing at Droy before looking at Gray again. "Why are we having dinner together?"

"I promised Cana I'd treat her to dinner today." Gray rolled his eyes while his roommate simply smiled innocently. "I lost a game or something, I don't even remember now."

"Yeah?" the brunette raised an eyebrow.

Gray sighed, then complained at the other two guys. "See, I was having a peaceful night and doing homework and she just goes 'Hey Gray, I'll toss a coin and if it's heads, I'll treat you to dinner. Tails, you treat me.' and I'm just like 'Where did that come from?', right?"

"Okay...?" Jet nodded, uncertain.

"But I was doing homework so I just said yes so that she'd shut up, and now here we are."

Cana smiled in self-satisfaction as she ate her dinner.

"So why did we have to come with you?" Jet asked. Beside him, Droy was eating happily.

"Actually, we just dropped by to say hi to Mira but then we found you two in obvious distress." Cana said. "And Gray wanted to take you along. Ask him."

Gray was busy chewing his food and he simply shrugged.

Jet, putting down his spoon and fork, finally said, "We have a problem."

"Oooh, ooooh~ Let me guess! Let me guess!" Cana said, grinning giddily. "Does this problem start with the word Levy?"

Jet looked at her pointedly while Droy nodded.

Gray was still busy eating. Cana took it upon herself to interrogate. "What happened?"

"Well, yesterday, I.. kinda shouted at her-"

"Kinda?" Droy repeated.

"Okay, I shouted at her. Droy wasn't any better. He didn't do anything-"

"Why would anyone shout at Levy?" Cana asked, exasperated.

"It's about what happened with Phantom last time." Droy answered. "She went with Gajeel to wherever that place is-"

"Gajeel's old place." Gray supplied.

"Yeah. There. It's like... it's like nothing happened, you know?" Jet said. "It's like we were never hospitalized for close to a month. Now I know we should forgive and forget. Fine. That one time Droy and I ganged up on him was wrong. She got mad. I can understand that. Yeah, we weren't any better. So... well, we forgave, okay? He's one of us now and that's fine now. But let's not forget the fact that the guy's still dangerous."

Cana raised an eyebrow. "Dangerous how?"

Jet answered. "Well for one, there are still so many people who have grudges against him. He still gets into fights regularly, right? We know he doesn't pick them, but that's still pretty risky. And then last week, Levy went with him. Alone - just the two of them. It was pretty reckless on her part and she actually knew that they'll be going to that place. She also knew that Phantom might be after them."

Droy continued for his friend. "We've been telling her that she should... well... keep her distance until most of the ruckus has died down. She was telling us about how Gajeel's her friend now and it helps him to be with all of us. We get it. We really do. But if she's hanging around him all the time, with just the two of them outside school, we can't help but worry because that's usually when people go after him, you know? When he's off school and in the town and mostly alone. Last week, she knew it would be dangerous and they both got lucky that Gajeel was able to handle the guys who took her. She should have told us before she went with him. Maybe we could've gone with them."

"We would have gone with them." Jet said more firmly. "So yesterday, when she told us about what happened... I couldn't help but think that she was reckless and inconsiderate. Going in there knowing it was risky and not telling us about it. We didn't even know what really happened until Cana told us yesterday morning. She was acting normal for the whole weekend."

"When we asked her if she had gotten hurt, she just said that Gajeel managed to get them out fast. So we shouldn't worry." Droy sighed. "How could we not worry? What if Gajeel hadn't been enough?"

"But he was. That's what matters." Gray finally spoke up. He had finished his meal.

Cana also nodded. "Yeah, it was kind of a dick move to shout at a girl who might be traumatized for all you know."

The whole table fell silent for a while before Jet spoke up again. "But what if-"

Gray interrupted quickly. "I know. It makes me wanna kill all of Phantom when I think 'What if Juvia or Cana or Lucy or Erza were alone that afternoon?' - I know they're fighters but there were nine armed guys. So you can't tell me off for not worrying about the 'what-if's."

That made the other two guys stop.

"You should thank Gajeel." Gray added.

"We know that. It's just that if Levy hadn't gone with him at all-"

"You can't blame her for wanting to accompany the guy. This is Levy we're talking about. She sticks with people if she thinks she can help. You should know that by now. She can't help but want to help people."

"And that gets her into trouble!" Droy insisted.

"We all get into trouble one way or another because we stick around each other."

"But-"

"You're not her bodyguards." Gray said, this time stern. "You guys are not eight anymore - she doesn't need you two to look out for her every second. There are no bullies anymore. She's gotten past that."

They looked down. Cana, even after finishing her meal, also stayed silent.

"I get it, though." Gray smiled, this time reassuringly. "Back in junior high, I used to punch the living daylights out of guys who were mean to Cana and it felt so damn good every single time."

That made Cana laugh while the other two looked at Gray, surprised. After a while, Jet and Droy also started to laugh with the brunette. They remembered those days, especially the months when the rumors of Cana sleeping around spread. One could consider Natsu and Erza kind, because if Gray ever heard it directly from anyone, they got hell handed to them. Those were the days when other kids bullied Levy for being a nerd, too. Jet and Droy were never fighters but they drove the bullies away.

In high school, they all pretty much stuck to their circle of friends so there was less trouble. Cana and Levy in particular, the ones who had gone through rough junior high school years, got to be laidback and be normal students for once. The boys still got into brawls and fights but that was just their natural penchant for trouble.

It was true that over the years, the girls had needed less and less protecting. They really weren't eight or ten or twelve anymore. In fact, on their first year of high school, Jet and Droy had a short falling out after they both decided to confess to Levy. Both were rejected, but for the sake of the girl they both cared so much about, the boys had also decided to resolve their differences. Of course the three of them could always stay friends. They cherished that. Jet and Droy still had a rivalry going on in between them, but they acknowledged that they both wanted the same thing - to make Levy happy. Although inside, both Jet and Droy knew that they wished that Levy had seen them as something more.

"How do you two do it?" Droy asked, after the laughter had died down. Cana and Gray looked at him. "Stay just best friends?"

Even Alzack and Bisca had crossed the boundaries. Natsu and Lucy still denied it, but they all knew that there was something there. That was why Jet and Droy thought it was okay to to fall for Levy. It was always bound to happen. They always thought that it was natural that when a guy and a girl were good friends - best of friends - they would see the other one as special. The rest would come after. The acknowledgement and the falling... Yes, not every love could be requited, but wasn't it natural at some point or another-

"The question's not _'how do we do it'_," Cana said. "It's _'how do we undo it'_ or something..."

Even Gray turned towards her.

The only girl in the group didn't look back at her roommate and instead looked directly at Jet and Droy. "When we first started living together, I always thought, 'Hey, why don't I marry this guy when I grow up?'"

"Seriously?" Gray asked, narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously.

"Yes!" Cana said, as if it was the most natural thing for her. She grabbed the guy's face and looked at their two companions. "I mean, look at him, guys - he's hot, right? Good genes. And he doesn't treat me like a piece of shit and he loves me and he cooks better eggs and hotdogs than me, and to top it all off, he brings money home! Plus he has no problems getting naked."

"You're creeping me out." Gray said, although he didn't pull his face away. "Is she creeping you out?" The other guys nodded.

Cana finally let go of her best friend's face and shrugged. "Then well, I realized that... ewww, it's Gray! He's basically me but without boobs and with that thing down there that's not my thing down here. You get me?"

"No." - they all answered.

"It's a prolonged exposure kind of thing, I guess." she tried explaining again. "We're so young and we spent so much time together - heck, we're basically playing house - that I couldn't imagine leaving him, you know? It's like I always think... who will cook the eggs? Because I can't cook eggs to save my life."

"She can't crack the shell." Gray explained. "It's almost sad."

Cana ignored him. "It's just that. I'll be really sad without him because he's kind to me and he makes me feel... well, at home. So I always think that maybe I'll just follow him around for a long time. Like, maybe forever. Who wouldn't want to feel safe forever, right? And then we had this fight one time and after that, I don't want to marry him anymore. It's weird."

"You're confusing them." Gray sighed.

"Well, can you explain how we're still best friends?"

"Um..." Gray started. "So... how am I still friends with Cana, huh? Um..."

"See?" Cana said, before continuing. "And it's true - one day I just stopped... was it being in love with you? I don't even know, but yeah, one day it just kind of stopped happening. I think I just realized that I just don't want my best friend to leave because it feels good having him. Because he's like this blanket of protection on me. Then I realize-"

"You realized so many things-"

"Shut up. So, I realized that even if we leave each other, it's not like I'm losing him or anything. I think by that time it finally struck me that he's not a friend for me anymore-"

"You're in love with him already!" Jet said, guessing confidently.

"No. He's family." Cana answered firmly. "That. And I thought one day I'd like to watch him get married and change diapers and mess up and stuff like that - and I'll bring popcorn and enjoy because it'll be hilarious."

Both guys turned to Gray for his reaction.

Gray frowned. "I thought I told you to drink after dinner."

"I'm not drunk."

"Figures. You sound better when you're drunk."

"I was trying to explain."

"You're embarrassing."

"You try."

"Uhhh..." Gray started again. "Well, yeah. Well, I never thought of dating or marrying her-"

Cana huffed. "Wow, really?"

Gray gave up easily on that one. "Okay, I did. She's cool-"

"Awww-"

Gray simply shook his head and covered the brunette's mouth with his hand and continued, "She bullies me every damn time and bosses me around, okay? This... creature... looks very pretty and cute - did I just say that? - but yeah, she's pretty and all... but she's evil. There, I said it." He withdrew his hand when Cana stopped struggling. "I know why you guys would fall for Levy. She's wonderful and she's basically an angel, yeah? But Cana's different. Evil."

"You're an ice king." Cana declared.

"Well, she has her redeeming factors, but she drinks and she stinks when she drinks and is really just pure evil-"

"Oh come on."

"But it's just the same with me. The prolonged exposure thing. Too much time together that I almost thought it wouldn't be so bad if we stayed like that always, or if we step it up from the best friends level-"

"But he fell for Erza-"

"Yeah, that was one month - get over it!"

Cana stage-whispered. "He kept it really well-hidden-"

"Then," he emphasized, interrupting the young woman. "Then, it was you. Didn't know that, did you?"

Cana huffed again. Yes, she didn't know that indeed.

"The fight she mentioned earlier, I remember telling her that she sucked and that I didn't want to see her again. To be fair, she told me the same thing. It started when she told me to stop looking out for her because she could stand by herself and shit. The 'I am an independent woman' speech. She told me she could live without me. You know, that hurt."

"You told me I was being difficult so I told you leave me alone to deal with my difficult self. Duh."

"And then we hated each other for like 2 days but we couldn't take it so I brought her a stuffed bunny and she cooked me dinner. Those fried eggs had so much eggshell you'd think she just dumped the whole egg in the frying pan and let it cook itself... But yeah. Those times when I thought I'd like to be with her always was just me feeling good about having her near me. And she's right. That's because... by then we're family. Get me?"

"No." - both Jet and Droy answered.

Gray attempted a simpler statement. "It's the same as her. It feels really good to have someone to always fall back on. That's what we have, I guess."

"So that's it?" Jet asked. "There was a period when... when you both considered each other but it just stopped?"

"Separate periods." Cana added.

"What if it happened at the same time?"

That made Cana and Gray look at each other and then back at their plates, thinking.

After a few moments, they both simply chuckled at their friends.

"What?" Droy asked.

"I don't know." Gray said, smiling uneasily.

"Same." Cana scratched the back of her head. "It would've been awkward."

Gray nodded. "With plenty of plate throwing and stuff."

"It would've worked though, would it?" Jet insisted. "The two of you?"

"Well, we've done the living with each other part, so maybe yes. Most probably yes." Cana shrugged. "Still, though... it would be like..."

"Like dating my twin sister." Gray said. Among his closest female friends, he had always considered Erza as sort of a big sister, Lucy and Levy as his little sisters, and Cana as his annoying twin. "And nobody tell Juvia about this conversation or she'll be out for blood."

"So that really is it. It just fades." Jet said, still confused. "But we never felt like Levy was our twin sister. Little sister, maybe. From the start, I just thought that I would like to take care of her and protect her because she's kind and-"

"Of course it's different with you guys. We're not a template or anything." Cana said, smiling amusedly. "And I get it, she's perfect, right? Kind, loving and smart with all that fragile little angel stuff. If I was a guy I'd pretty much consider her ideal, too."

"Are you guys still content being just her best friends?" Gray asked.

"Of course we still want her to see us differently. Like you said, step up from the best friends level. May the best guy win and all that." Droy said, looking down sadly. "But we got used to the friendzone, I guess. We're still lucky that there's no awkwardness between the three of us. We can live with being just her friends and protector... It's just-... We had that place secure and-"

"-and now she's trusting Gajeel too much and she feels perfectly comfortable with him... I just... I somehow feel like I've been replaced." Jet sighed. "Not going to blame her though, the guy's stronger than the two of us combined and-"

"She's not replacing you." Gray said quickly.

"But I just can't help but feel-"

"You're not her bodyguards, you know." Cana said. "There, that's the second time that's been brought out. See, if you ask her, she'll say you're her best friends. You always have been. Maybe she'll say that you two protect her, but she won't say you're her bodyguards. You'll always be her best friends."

Jet and Droy both looked down repentantly, as if they had been scolded. That's pretty much what happened, anyway - Cana and Gray were both scolding them.

"So what happened yesterday, really? After you shouted at her? How did she react?" Gray asked, this time more curious than accusing.

"She ran away."

"And? Did you get to talk to her at all after that?" Cana said, brows furrowed. She wasn't in the same class as Levy so she didn't have a clue as to how the blunette was doing.

Droy answered. "We haven't talked to her yet. That's why we were thinking of asking you."

"Well, good job, guys. She's pretending to be fine. The girls don't even know about it." Gray said.

"Even Lucy?" Jet asked. Lucy was like Levy's third best friend. They were both bookworms and they were in the same class. Lucy should have been Levy's confidante...

"Even Lucy." the raven-head nodded.

"But they're her friends. Levy always tells us her problems-"

Gray shrugged and very bluntly said, "Lucy's not you two."

Before the two guys could react, Gray's phone alerted him of a message and he checked it.

"Crap. I almost forgot I have to pick something up at the Pegasus." he said. He quickly checked his things and then looked at his friends. "Good luck, men. I have to go."

"Thanks, dude." Jet said, sending a grateful smile at Gray.

"No problem."

Cana also pat down her skirt and moved to follow her roommate. She ruffled Jet's hair and winked at the two. "See you tomorrow!"

They nodded. After taking her first few steps, Cana heard Droy's remark: "We really shouldn't have shouted at her-"

"What're you talking about?" Cana asked loudly, making them look back at her. "She was reckless and a tiny bit inconsiderate. That scolding was the right thing to do."

"Then what-"

"It just sucks that you didn't try to comfort her after. That's probably why she thinks you're angry."

"Cana!" Gray called, already by the restaurant doorway.

"Coming!" the brunette said, pouting. She waved at the other two before running after Gray.

Jet and Droy looked at each other, blinked and then looked back into their plates.

Jet cleared his throat. "That was... weird."

Droy nodded. "I know we always say this about Natsu and Lucy... but Gray and Cana are insane, too."

"Think about it, I can't imagine them dating."

"It would be funny."

"Yeah."

"So what do we do now?"

"We apologize."

"You're calling her now?"

"...No, I'm making a speech tonight and then I'll say sorry to her tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow?"

"'Cause I still don't know what to say and I might ruin things. So I better make a cheatsheet."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Jet was a runner. He loved running, and he was the fastest in their group. Natsu was the ace of the track team because he was the one with the loud personality and the charisma that carried the team together, but Jet was the fastest and most efficient member of the team. Everyone knew that. The time that Natsu got kicked out from the team was also the period that Jet, Droy and Levy spent in the hospital. Jet had returned to the team for that year, but in their senior year, he had transferred to the computer club. It was his second hobby - and the career path that he was intent on taking.

He was never a fighter. He always preferred to outrun the other kids he got into fights with, or the bigger kids who bullied him.

He only ever stopped running when Levy was involved. Instead, he always took a step forward, standing protectively in front of the little blunette. Levy and Droy were both soft-spoken and gentle people - he was the one with the brave streak. He always thought that he had to be their protector.

He had been their protector until the day he wasn't - when Levy had bloomed from a timid girl to a smart and confident model student, and when Droy turned from being the socially-awkward lanky kid to a terrifyingly normal teenager.

One day, though, he found himself the one behind Levy. Gajeel of Phantom Lord gang had picked her up by the collar of her uniform and she said, _"Do your worst - just please leave them alone."_

Jet had thought, when Gajeel let go of the girl as if she was a ragdoll and picked him up instead, that maybe the guy would just have her watch. Maybe the "Iron Dragon" would beat him and Droy up and make Levy watch because that's what she pleaded -_ 'Leave them alone'_ - just how much satisfaction would it bring the guy to do the opposite of what was begged of him?

Instead, Gajeel punched and kicked the smaller young man in the gut andrendered him unable to stand up, and did what was asked of him. He did his worst. Jet had to watch as Droy went next.

Roughly a year later, Jet had forgiven Gajeel - the times were hard and there must be reasons behind what the raven-head had done to his friends. Besides, the guy was one of them now. They all played fair. They gave the guy a second chance and so far Gajeel was proving his worth.

It was just that it had been long since Jet had protected either Levy or Droy. And that one time he should have stood protectively in front of them and taken the beatings, he failed.

He could not help but think that that was the reason why Levy didn't need his protection anymore. He wouldn't be able to give it, anyway.

* * *

Droy's family owned a flower shop. He always prided himself on the fact that on Levy's birthdays, Jet was never able to beat Droy on the flowers department. He gave their girl the best.

He was an awkward kid. He got depressed easily and ate a lot when he got depressed. It took some time before he grew social skills and managed to be one of the "normal" kids in their circle. With all the colorful characters of his friends, he knew he should at least bring some normalcy in.

If Jet was the shield that fought back, Droy was the shield that stayed and didin't budge. Jet might shout back at the bullies, but Droy would just stand firm and attempt to be strong.

He didn't run like Jet. He didn'tfight back like Jet, either. He just stood. Firm. As if he was rooted to the ground, as if he was one of the many trees and plants he knew so much about.

He laid on the ground with Jet when Levy was being beaten up by Gajeel. He watched as Jet pounded on the guy's leg, cursing at him to stop, almost begging for the raven-head to put Levy down and just deal with him.

_'It's amazing'_, he thought then._ 'Jet can still move.'_ Droy couldn't. Droy just laid there. And as he was getting beaten up, Jet shouted his name.

Jet was the protector. Droy was just the unecessary middle wall. Walls crumble. He wasn't about to offer his protection when he was bound to break down as well. So maybe it was really about time that he accepted the fact that Levy would never see him as her protector. It was about time he accepted the fact that he was never really her "bodyguard", even when as kids, the three of them playing pretend made it sound real enough.

It didn't change the fact that she was special, and most probably she thought he was special too. That was the way Levy grew to view people over time. They were all special - and she loved them all.

Droy just had to get used to being one of the 'all'.

* * *

"How did you know that they had a problem with Levy?"

Gray looked up from his homework to stare at his roommate. Cana laid on the couch, drinking what looked like her fifteenth can of beer while watching TV. He shrugged and looked back down at his notebook, answering, "I guessed."

Cana was unconvinced. "You didn't. You're a dense idiot. Something must have given it away. Did she tell you?"

Gray shook his head. "I walked her home after what happened last week."

"Mm-hm." the brunette said, nodding. She remembered that. She stayed with Gildarts on the station while Gray walked Levy home as per the cop's request.

"On the way, she talked about how scary it was." Gray stopped writing and simply stared at his notes blankly. "She told me that she and Gajeel had to pick up a notebook he forgot in there last time. I got her point. Then she said that she didn't know how to tell Jet and Droy."

"She knew, huh."

"She knew they'd be furious if they knew. I told her we could keep it a secret and I could talk to the others if she needed me to, but Levy just told me that she doesn't keep secrets from her best friends."

Cana smiled lightly, taking another swig of her beer.

Gray shrugged and touched his pen to his notebook again. With his concentration on the homework broken, he started doodling absently on the corner of the paper. He spoke up again, still drawing. "You know what hit me most about that?"

"What?"

"Levy told me she wished Jet and Droy were with her."

He remembered the blunette's exact words -_ 'It was crazy. Gajeel was holding me, and I felt safe but I was very very afraid and even when I was holding on to him, I couldn't help but want to scream for help and... well, I wanted to call Jet and Droy. Because I was so scared. And I know they wouldn't always be there so I should stop being so dependent, but the fact is they really always have been. I think that was the first time they weren't there and even when I knew that Gajeel would keep me safe, it's just different. With those two... there's just something extra, you know?'_

Gray remembered telling Levy that he could drop her off at Jet's or Droy's if she wanted to see them, but she was too shy to do so. She said they'd surely be mad at her and she must have worried her parents enough. In the end he ended up having dinner with her family before heading on home.

"So when we asked her about Droy at school a while ago and she was uneasy, I knew something must've gone wrong." Gray finished. "But then that always happens. Friends fight."

"It sucks to see them fight, though."

"Yeah."

"Gray?"

"Hm."

"You really should teach me how to cook eggs before you go."

He blinked, his hand stopping abruptly as he looked up at Cana again. "Go where?"

"Away."

"I'm not going away-"

"You are."

"You're drunk."

"You're naked."

"I can put clothes on and you'll still be drunk."

"Yeah. I'm drunk. That's why I sound good. Haha..." Cana laughed sleepily, burying her face in her pillow. Then she sang,_ "M'gonna miss 'ya when you're gone..."_

Gray sighed, going back to his homework. "Yeah, right."

"No, really."

"Where do you think I'm going, anyway?"

Cana pouted. "Does that matter? Away." She took another swig of beer and sighed. "And I'm staying here."

"What are you talking about?"

He was left with silence. Gray focused on his work to let his roommate think, scratching his head for a while when he realized that he had drawn a rough sketch of Juvia on a corner of his math homework. 'To hell with it.' he thought, letting the drawing stay. After a few minutes, he heard light snoring.

The raven-head looked at the young woman on the couch and saw that the brunette was fast asleep, holding loosely on to a half-empty can of beer.

He groaned, rubbing his temples. "Goddammit, I'm gonna have to carry you to your bed again."

He did not mind, though. He would just tuck her to bed whenever she needed it. He would do it while he still can, because she was right. He was going away soon.

* * *

The next day, Gray and Natsu watched in boredom as the girls once again gushed over what Erza was saying.

"..So then, when he came over, he... h-he had a new phone charm with him. I didn't even t-t-tell him that... that I... I wanted a new one but he just.. well he b-b-b-bought it already and I had no choice but to... to accept it, y-y-you know-"

"Let us see! Let us see!" Juvia and Lucy were gripping each other's hands while promptly ignoring their lunch, while Natsu and Gray looked at them warily.

Erza blushingly took out her phone. In place of what used to be the red rose charm was almost an exact replica of it. Keyword: almost.

"Oh my gosh." Lucy said.

"What your gosh?" Natsu asked, squinting to see anything strange with the item. It really was the same one, except...

"He said he couldn't find red ones anymore, so-"

"It's the exact color of Jellal-san's hair!" Juvia squealed, almost melting against the blonde. Lucy held her tightly and squealed with her. Gray and Natsu inched away, busy chewing their food and protecting their eardrums.

"That's so sweet!"

"Erza-san is so lucky!"

"What did you tell him? What did you tell him?"

Erza was blushing as she answered. "Uh... Of course I-... I thanked him! What e-else should I have s-s-said?!"

"You should have kissed him!" Lucy practically shouted, which made Natsu and Gray both choke on their food.

Erza blushed brighter and she scolded her friend. "L-LUCY!"

Juvia sighed dreamily, even ignoring how, beside her, Gray was choking to death and was gesturing frantically for water.

The moment was interrupted when they heard a knock by the classroom doorway. The group turned, finding Jet and Droy standing by the door tentatively.

The boys did not need to say anything. All five gathered for lunch automatically turned their heads to look around the room, towards the direction of a certain person's desk.

Levy was nowhere to be found. Gray gave Jet and Droy a meaningful look, while Erza answered for the group. "Levy hasn't come back since she went out when lunch started."

"You guys know where she went?" Jet asked.

Erza shook her head.

"Okay. Thanks, guys." Droy said, waving at his friends, who all nodded at them. Jet and Droy left. Lucy and Juvia resumed interrogating Erza, while Natsu and Gray started eating again, more cautiously this time.

Jet and Droy trudged back to their classroom, sighing heavily.

"She's not there. Let's look for her again after classes?"

"Do you think she'll pay attention to us?"

"We just need to ask for a chance to talk to her."

"You think we should've waited for her on their classroom?"

"I don't know, man."

As soon as they got back to their classroom, they found a minor commotion on one corner of the classroom. Cana had decided to sit on Mystogan's desk, showing off the sleight-of-hand card tricks she would use for her role as a gypsy fortuneteller back in the cultural festival. The brunette had somehow convinced Mysto to be her assistant while Laki, Bisca and Gajeel were her audience.

Not missing the opportunity, Jet stepped inside the classroom and called their classmate. "Hey, Gajeel."

Gajeel turned to look towards them and answered in his typical gruff way, "What?"

Jet cocked his head to indicate that they should talk outside. Gajeel frowned, but remained complacent and quickly excused himself from the group. Cana glanced shortly at them before turning back towards Laki and Bisca.

As soon as all of them were outside the room and in the relatively empty hallways, Jet sighed. "Look, man-"

Gajeel cut him off automatically. "I'm sorry I took her out there. I knew it was dangerous but she insisted and I thought I'd be enough but we almost didn't make it out. I shouldn't have given in when she used her smart-ass puppy eyes. It's on me. Don't get mad at her." He said all that in one breath, voice rough and monotonous, as if his answer was the only answer to a very common question.

Jet and Droy stared at FairyGaku's Iron Dragon, both of them dumbfounded. Gajeel - Gajeel Redfox - just apologized to them and asked them to put all the blame on him... and they didn't even ask for it.

"Uh-" Jet started. It all got so awkward all of a sudden. "Actually... uh..."

"...Thanks." Droy managed. "For... err, getting her out of there safe."

Gajeel shrugged. "Don't take it personally. I did it because everyone would've killed me otherwise."

"Yeah." Jet said, chuckling. "Actually, we just meant to ask you... um... if you know where Levy is?"

Gajeel blinked at them. "What?"

Droy repeated for them both. "Do you know where Levy is?"

That only seemed to confuse Gajeel more. "What, like, where she is right now?"

"Yeah."

"What the hell, why're you askin' me?"

Jet knew that they were just taking chances, but he still pushed through with it. "Well..."

The raven-head shrugged at them. "Isn't that your job? To know her best?"

Jet and Droy stopped, unable to think of what to say next.

Yeah.

They were supposed to know.

They were Levy's boys - her best friends. They were a trio, despite many school years of being from different classes, the three of them were the closest to each other.

So why were they asking other people?

Why where they doubting themselves and how much they knew Levy?

Just then, the three heard a call from inside the classroom. "Hey, Gajeel, we need you back here!"

Gajeel looked at them both again. "Well, uh, come back if you wanna know something about Juvia. I can deal with that." Without another word, Gajeel went back to the room, leaving Jet and Droy staring after him.

"So," Droy started. "We're stupid."

Jet looked at his friend. "Yeah. Very stupid."

Of course they should have known.

They knew Levy best, after all.

In perfect sync, they simply declared, "She's definitely in the library."

* * *

"Levy?"

The blunette looked up when a familiar voice called her name. She had been writing down on her new reviewer, using several textbooks along with Lucy's notes as reference.

She put down her pen when she saw Jet and Droy standing by a nearby bookshelf.

"Can we... talk?"

Levy swallowed. "Jet-"

Droy was quick to step forward and back his friend up. "Give us five minutes?"

Levy attempted a nervous smile, then nodded. Both boys sat themselves across the table. Levy looked down at her notebook, avoiding their looks.

Jet and Droy looked at each other shortly before Jet cleared his throat and said, "We're sorry."

Levy quickly looked up and shook her head. "No, it was really my fault. I get it-"

"I'm not sorry I shouted at you." Jet interrupted. He always was gentle with Levy, but there were times when there was no other way to put things. "I'm glad I got all of that out."

"Then what-"

"I'm sorry I didn't try to make you feel better after what happened." Jet said.

Levy looked from him, and then turned to Droy, who scratched the back of his head. Droy said, "I'm sorry I was too focused on wanting to protect you that I couldn't be the friend you needed when it really mattered..."

Jet also nodded. "What he said."

"But you didn't do anything wrong. I... I..."

They watched as their best friend - the girl they both cared most about - slowly tear up. Levy laughed shakily, trying to wipe her tears with her hands.

"Levy..." Droy called out, almost reaching out to ruffle the girl's hair comfortingly. Jet struggled to take out his handkerchief.

"I... I feel so bad..." Levy sniffed.

"Why?" Jet asked.

"That day I was so scared and more than anything I just wanted you two to be there and... and I know it's my fault for not telling you... and you care so much about me I felt so bad because I just... I just knew that if you were there you would have gotten hurt and yet I really really just wanted you to be there-... I was just so scared-... And I knew I shouldn't have come at all, made you guys worry and all that-... So sorry..."

That was really all they needed. They had to hear from her that she still needed them.

Cana and Gray had mentioned that having a best friend was like having a security blanket: someone to fall back on. Whatever it was that made them almost cross the line they drew, it was just the need to always have that comfort and security with them.

What Jet and Droy asked was_ "So it just fades?"_ - and Cana and Gray simply shrugged and said _"Yes, it does."_

Jet and Droy forgot to ask where the fading ends, but they didn't need that now. They were different. They weren't following a template. For Cana and Gray, the next level from being the best of friends was being a family. They were both orphans in a sense and they found home in each other. Same went for Juvia and Gajeel. They'd gone through similar struggles and had to stick together to stay strong. Juvia gave Gajeel a place to call home and in turn Gajeel held her dear to him. That was how they worked. For Alzack and Bisca, they fell in love because they complimented each other in a way nobody ever could. They balanced each other out and in that way they both became a half of a whole. How Lucy and Natsu saw each other was still a mystery for almost everyone, but it was clear that they made each other happy and feel really comfortable together - and all of them were yet to see what would come from that.

It was all very different. It was like Jet's and Droy's "computer club stuff". When they coded a program, the flow of everything depended on input, process and output. There can be more than one output from a single input, all depending on what happened in the in-betweens. It was all in the transitions - the fading from one process to another.

Maybe their romantic feelings for Levy would fade someday, but the fading would surely just end at a dull, silent assurance. By the end of it all, they would know that they'd gone through toomuch as to let conflictingfeelings break their friendship. They would always be best of friends. They wouldn't have to ask. That's what being someone's best friend meant - you just know when to give. Most of all, when to shout - because this was stupid and that was reckless and do you know how worried I was?

Maybe someday Jet and Droy would accept that they would always be just best friends - that they might all go separate ways and not be able to talk to or see each other as much as they used to.

But they would always know that somewhere, sometime, when they get to see each other again, things wouldn't change that much. Jet would still be their protector, Droy would still be their firm shield, and Levy would still be the girl they grown to care about so much.

Jet finally managed to offer her his handkerchief. Levy accepted gratefully, sniffing.

"You're such a drama queen." Droy said.

"I know! I don't know why you guys put up with me." Levy laughed, wiping her tears with the hanky. "I'm sorry for being a crybaby."

"It's okay." Jet smiled. "It gives us an excuse to dote over you again. You hardly need us these days-"

"Shut up, I'll always need you." she rubbed her eyes and sniffed one last time. "You're my boys."

"Are we okay now?" Droy asked, smiling hopefully.

Levy laughed. It sounded like geniune happiness and Jet and Droy could not help but smile.

"I can't say 'no' to you two, anyway. Not after all that." the blunette said.

They were only interrupted by the ring of the bell. All three of them were running late for their respective classes, but they were laughing carelessly because everything was fine.

That afternoon, for the first time in a long time, the three of them walked home together.

.

.

.

**A/N: **Cana is my spirit animal. Hands down. The girl knows how to give good advice. The girl knows how the world works and will solve all of our existential crises.

Plus, it's always good to see Team Natsu being Team Natsu.

**For those wondering how I got the best-friends dynamics down from the canon to this AU, read:** What I like most about Fairy Tail is how Mashima doesn't shy away from having guy-girl best friends and he shows it in his extras actually stated somewhere that Gray thinks he's closest to Cana among all the guild members, and I've read somewhere that Cana thinks the same of Gray. How's that for total bros? The light novels have Juvia commenting on Gajeel liking Levy - and our Rain Woman says this knowingly. She might always be shown just trailing after Gray and co. but she definitely has a special and close bond with Gajeel, enough to know him and his feelings. Alzack and Bisca were stated to have been close friends who have known each other even before joining Fairy Tail and even before being a couple, they've always been partners. Lastly, it's always been obvious that Jet and Droy have this huge crush on Levy but they're still a team in the end. It got to a point that they're willing to serve as Gajeel's support just because they know that Levy likes the guy. It's awesome, really. :D

.

**Coming up next:  
"Freed-zoned"**

FRAXUS.  
Or my lame attempt at Fraxus, but still-  
_TIME TO GET THIS SHIP SAILING, MATES._


	15. Track 15: Distance

**A/N:** New record for longest chapter, anyone?

So. Here it is. The Freed chapter! Which is Fraxus! You have been warned. I know that many people ship the Raijinshuu with the Strauss Siblings plus Cana, but I have a really soft spot for Fraxus. That, and I missed Tumblr Fraxus Week for this!

I don't think I have to say anything more when it comes to Freed and his loyalty for our Lightning Dragon Slayer. And this chapter is my take on their relationship. It's really just my major AU headcanon, but blah. It worked. My beta liked it, I think. I like it too.

Forgive me if Laxus may be OOC. I mean this is Laxus. He was the hardest character to get right so far. But I think I managed!

So here ya go, everyone. Enjoy! :)

* * *

**WE ARE YOUNG  
Track 15: Distance  
**..aka "The Freed-zone"

_"____And I will make sure to keep my distance;  
say "I love you" when you're not listening.  
How long can we keep this up?_"  
- Christina Perri ft. Jason Mraz

.

That morning, Freed did not have time to brush his hair.

When he sat up in bed, yawning, he immediately noticed the mess that was his bedroom. The usually pristine room had crumpled paper balls scattered everywhere. His gaze heading downwards, Freed saw that on the floor - fast asleep without a cushion or a blanket - was Laxus. The blonde guitarist was using Freed's teddy bear (Rune-chan, he was named) as a pillow.

Freed rubbed his eyes. _'Not awake enough for this'_, he thought. _'Definitely still dreaming.'_ He lay back down on his bed, closed his eyes, counted to ten, and then opened them again. He sat up.

Laxus was still there.

Freed came to the next logical conclusion. He leaned down and reached out to shake his bandmate awake. He nudged Laxus' shoulder very gently, just in case the guy decided to kick or punch in his sleep.

"Laxus?" Freed whispered. "Hey, wake up."

Laxus grunted, annoyed, but opened one eye sleepily. "Hn...?"

"Why are you sleeping on the floor?" Freed asked.

Laxus really was still disoriented, so he simply groaned and then turned to his other side and resumed sleeping.

Freed sighed. He finally got up, walked around the sleeping guy and crouched down to wake him up again. "Laxus, do you want to move to the bed?"

An annoyed grunt.

"You'll get backache if you keep sleeping in there. Let's move you to the bed. Then you can sleep all you want. C'mon."

Laxus grunted again, sleepily sitting up but still not opening his eyes. Freed struggled to help him up; Laxus was a heavy guy. The blonde slumped carelessly on the bed and resumed his sleep. Freed simply picked Rune-chan up from the floor, put the stuffed toy back on the bed, and draped his blankets over his bandmate's sleeping form. He didn't knowhow Laxus ended up on his bedroom floor, but he did know that the guy was tired and Freed wasn't about to ruin the blonde's rest.

Walking around the room lazily, Freed picked up the scattered pieces of crumpled papers. He unraveled one to reveal lines of chords and lyrics in Laxus' messy handwriting.

_'Ah.'_ he thought. _'He was making a song.'_

Freed then remembered everything. There had been a pizza party. Last night, Bixlow had barged in and randomly announced a pizza party. Bixlow had even managed to drag Evergreen from her flat just next door while Laxus came over to humor their drummer for once. At some point that night, Laxus brought out Freed's acoustic guitar and they started an impromptu jam session. Bixlow and Evergreen then retreated to Ever's flat because they suddenly remembered it was the season finale of their favorite TV series (Freed still didn't understand how the two actually managed to have similar interests other than music). Laxus was left lazily playing guitar on Freed's couch and after a while, the two decided to try and write a new song. It had been a while since they last did that, after all.

Freed didn't remember going to bed and falling asleep, but he did remember that Laxus had been engrossed on what he was doing and had told him that it was going really well. The scattered papers were just Laxus' usual by-products.

Freed looked around to look for the finished product. Laxus would usually put the paper somewhere...

He didn't see anything around the room, so Freed simply decided to go ahead and make breakfast.

When he reached the kitchen, he noticed a battered piece of paper stuck on his fridge.

Freed rubbed his eyes before reading.

_'O Great Justine-sama'_

The bassist couldn't help but chuckle, smiling at his friend's silliness. He read the rest.

_'I can't write lyrics for shit but I made up some sick riffs for the verse and chorus.  
The bass line's in there too. Check it out. We'll just let B go crazy on the drums.  
Still thinking if we should put in a keyboard part for E or just let her sing.  
You can slap in some words on it if you want to. Just don't be a drama king about it.  
I'm borrowing Rune-chan.  
- Laxus'_

Freed chuckled again, shaking his head. For some reason, Laxus always used that teddy bear as a pillow.

The bassist quickly skimmed Laxus' instrumental arrangement, trying to imagine the sound. The guitar riffs looked good, but there were definitely some adjustments he could make on the bass lines. He stuck the paper back on the fridge door and started preparing breakfast.

Halfway through making pancakes, Freed jumped at the sound of Laxus' voice. "Bed hair."

Freed blinked and turned to his companion. "L-Laxus! You're up?"

The blonde yawned, then crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the counter. "It smells too good."

"Oh. Well then, it'll be ready in a few."

Another yawn. "Freed. Your hair."

"W-W-What about my hair?"

Laxus did his best to stifle his laughter. "It looks like a bird's nest."

"What?!" Freed quickly let go of the pan and brought his hands to examine his hair. "Argh, I haven't brushed my hair yet-" When Laxus erupted into full-on laughter, Freed blushed and looked at his companion accusingly. "Stop laughing!"

"But it looks funny." Laxus said, this time chuckling. He knew how upset Freed got over his looks sometimes, so he thought he could be the good guy for once. After all, he was having free breakfast. "Want me to get the hairbrush?"

"Yes, please."

Freed tried to concentrate on his cooking while Laxus went back to the bedroom to fetch the hairbrush. As soon as the blonde returned, Freed asked if Laxus could take over the pancakes for a few seconds while he brushed his hair. Laxus simply complied and let the bassist finish his morning rituals.

"What d'you think of the riffs?" the blonde asked, glancing at the paper he stuck on the fridge door.

Freed smiled. "They're good. I'd have to adjust the bass lines, though. Make them more consistent."

"Yeah. You planning to write lyrics for it?"

"Of course. Not today, though."

"You doin' something?" - because Laxus was pretty sure that it was a Sunday. That was why they had all agreed to Bixlow's crazy pizza party the previous night. They all knew they had no plans for the next day.

"Eh, um... yes. I have... plans."

Laxus blinked this time. "What plans?" he asked, stepping back and handing the pan back to Freed, who took over the cooking quickly.

"I'm... uh..." Freed started, uneasy. His cheeks had a tinge of pink as he spoke. "Going out with... someone... today. For lunch."

"Oh." was all Laxus said, leaning against the counter again as he watched his friend cook. "The same guy from last time?"

"Yes."

"How many months have you been seeing that guy again?"

"Two months, give or take."

"He's good, yeah?"

Freed took a minute to glance at his companion. Laxus was absentmindedly poking at the picture frame in the countertop. It held a photo of the Raijinshuu back in their high school graduation ceremony.

"Yes." Freed said, turning his back to the blonde again and stacking up the last pancake onto a plate. "He's been very nice to me."

"You think this one's gonna be better?" Laxus asked, finally putting the frame back in its proper place. The last one ended badly, as they all knew.

"It's going well so far."

"That's... good."

"It is." Freed could tell that the blonde had nothing else to say. Laxus had never really been the talkative type, especially about things like relationships. Laxus could go on forever about his family problems, their friends, or music, but you could never count on him to talk about romance and feelings. That was just the kind of guy he was. Freed didn't want to make his friend feel uncomfortable, so he simply said, "I'm almost done."

Laxus seemed pleased to be given a job. "I'll set the table."

"Thanks."

In a few minutes, they were peacefully eating breakfast in comfortable silence. Laxus finished first as always, and grabbed his note from the fridge door and continued to fuss over it. As he ate, Freed watched his companion make some adjustments on the arrangement while partially humming under his breath.

Freed cherished moments like these, when he could freely watch Laxus forget his worries and problems, just doing what he liked to do without a care in the world. Laxus was always getting into fights and had a dozen or so extra issues in his life, so it was rare to see him so laid back.

Laxus looked up at his companion. "You need me to adjust stuff for the bass?"

Freed simply shook his head. "I'll wait to hear the lead riffs in action before changing anything."

Laxus simply grunted, then picked up the pen and paper and headed for the couch again, grabbing the guitar resting nearby. "I'll wash the dishes so just call me if you're done in there."

"Sure." Freed said, returning to his meal.

After a while, just as the green-haired young man was finishing up his breakfast, Laxus asked again. "Freed?"

"Yes?"

"Have 'ya told your 'rents yet?"

"Told them what?"

"That you like guys."

Freed chewed his last bite slowly, giving himself enough time to answer his friend. Surprised by the lack of a usually immediate response, Laxus shifted to look at his friend curiously. He watched as Freed chewed carefully, and then swallowed. "No. They don't know yet."

Laxus nodded, watching his companion carefully. "So... that means your mom's still bugging you about getting a girlfriend."

"Actually, I just rejected her offer to set me up with those dating agencies last week."

Laxus snorted. "Again?"

Freed nodded. "Again." He looked at Laxus, who was staring at him. "Why are you asking, by the way?"

Laxus turned his back to his friend and started strumming lazily. "My precious little sister told me to get a girlfriend."

Freed chuckled. "Erza did?" He never knew Erza was the type to say such things. She must have been pissed off or something.

"Well, I was being a precious big brother teasing her about her boyfriend, so I had that coming. Is that what they mean when they say she's in a difficult age or something?"

"So why don't you?"

"Why don't I what?"

"Get a girlfriend?"

Laxus snorted. "You guys have been talking me into that for years now."

"Why not?" Freed asked. "With your looks and your guitar, you can have almost any girl you want."

"I'm perfectly fine by myself." was all the blonde said. Before Freed could say anything, Laxus continued. "And don't give me that _'you're 22 now'_ crap."

"Fine, I won't." said the green-haired young man. "But you really have to look for someone, Laxus."

"Why?" the blonde asked, as if he just couldn't understand. "I have enough problems as it is."

"That's even more of a reason to." Freed said, bringing the dishes to the sink. He turned the faucet on and continued, "You'll have someone who will understand you and help you cope with those problems."

"But I already have you." came the answer.

Freed let the water run freely down the drain, staring blankly at the plates he was supposed to be washing. The answer was fast - automatic, even. Laxus could be really rude and a jerk, but he was also brutally honest. For him to answer so automatically, that only meant that it was a question he would always be ready to answer.

Laxus continued, "You and Ever and Bix bear with my shit. I think three people are more than enough. Don't have a chick, but I have a band."

Freed smiled lightly, finally picking up the first plate to start washing. Of course - him and Evergreen and Bixlow. _'Of course, Freed. What are you thinking? You'd think that someone who managed to make and eat breakfast would be awake enough...'_

"Oi, Freed."

"Yeah." he answered quickly, to reassure his friend that he was still listening. "You're right. You do have us."

"...Why are you washing the dishes? I told you I'd do that."

"It's fine, I'll do it."

"You cooked." Laxus put down the guitar and stood up. "I'll do that. You go get ready for your date."

"It's not until noon-"

"Well then you go get ready to get ready for your date. You take forever, y'know. Have to start early."

Freed watched helplessly as the other guy nudged him aside and started taking over the chore. The bassist was about to clean up the table as well, but Laxus beat him to it.

"I'll take care of the table too."

"Geez, can't I do anything on my own house?"

"You just go prettify yourself."

"_'Prettify'_, really?"

"Was trying to sound fun." Laxus mumbled.

Freed simply chuckled and then shook his head, heading for the bedroom. "I'll go take a bath, then."

Laxus was still humming as he washed the dishes.

* * *

_Freed came from a very traditional and wealthy family. He couldn't exactly say that they were as rich as the Heartfilias, who were business tycoons, but they were rich enough to be one of the widely-known families in Magnolia. Both Freed's parents were politicians. His siblings were doctors, lawyers and engineers. His friends always knew that Freed had a family name, reputation and tradition to live up to. That was why Freed was the very picture of order and responsibility._

_His sexual orientation was a well-kept secret between very few people. Freed, being one of the younger children in a large, wealthy and busy family, found it easy to hide things from his parents and siblings. He was still young and he avoided public appearances too, so he didn't catch that much attention from the public._

_Naturally, Laxus, Evergreen and Bixlow knew. Mirajane knew - in fact, the two months that Freed had dated her was simply to get his mother off his back for a while. It was Mira's idea. He owed the silver-haired barmaid very much. Elfman knew - Evergreen told her boyfriend with Freed's permission. Makarov and Erza knew - the Raijinshuu were practically considered part of the Dreyar family, after all. Perhaps Erza's friends - Natsu, Gray, Cana, Levy and Lucy - knew as well - but they were good kids and Freed trusted them enough to know that they would understand. Gildarts knew - he was an honest secret-keeper and confidante when it mattered, especially if it involved the students._

_Freed could still remember how he'd spilled the beans to Laxus, Ever and Bixlow. It was a quiet afternoon with the band hanging out in Laxus' room. Bixlow had yet another one of his silly ideas and brought out a deck of Icebreaker cards._

_'Who was your first crush?'_

_Evegreen and Laxus quickly backed out at the question. Bixlow, of course, showed them a picture of a magical girl from an anime they used to watch as children. Freed decided that it was the right time to come clean and answered the question truthfully, because he had wanted to share the truth with someone for years._

_They all looked at him._

_"A guy?"_

_He nodded._

_"Ehhhh?"_

_Another nod._

_"So... uh...-?"_

_Fifteen and sporting a bright red blush in his face, Freed had said, "Please don't freak out. Please don't hate me. I'll go away if you want but please don't hate me."_

_He risked a glance up and to his surprise, his friends were simply looking at him with confused expressions._

_Freed tried, "...So?"_

_Evergreen was the first to react. "I knew." she said, looking away and crossing her arms across her chest. "I… uh, just knew. There were signs."_

_"There were?" Laxus and Bixlow asked her at the same time, then looked at Freed, who was still gaping at the brunette's very simple and straightforward reaction._

_"Yes. There were." Evergreen said firmly._

_"Well, I knew too!" Bixlow declared as well, crossing his arms across his chest as well and mimicking Ever's huff._

_"How?" Evergreen and Laxus both asked, skeptic._

_The drummer pouted stubbornly. "I have a gaydar!"_

_They all narrowed their eyes at him._

_Bix sighed. "...Fine, I didn't know."_

_Freed shook his head, then turned to look at Laxus nervously. The blonde stared back and then averted his gaze._

_The green-haired teen sighed and looked down at his lap. So Laxus didn't want to be friends with him anymore._

_He missed Evergreen and Bixlow glaring pointedly at Laxus, practically daring him to say anything that would hurt their bassist._

_Laxus simply scratched his head. "Yeah, okay. Now we know. You like dudes."_

_"I..." Freed started, voice trembling. "I've never told anyone else before and... And I might make you guys... uncomfortable. So... if you want me to... keep my distance or something, I... I'll do it-"_

_To everyone's surprise, it was Laxus who interrupted him. "Bullshit. Why the hell would you go away?"_

_"Yeah, nothing's supposed to change!" Bixlow insisted._

_Evergreen kept silent. She knew where Freed was coming from._

_"You say that now, but... but I've always seen you guys react negatively to... to people like me. That's why I couldn't tell you sooner even though I wanted to share it, because I was afraid that you guys would-"_

_"What d'you mean react negatively?" Laxus asked, raising an eyebrow._

_Evergreen took the liberty of explaining. "You see something that doesn't live up to your standards of manliness and call it 'gay'. You use the term very negatively."_

_Laxus and Bixlow fell silent._

_The only girl in the room continued. "You use other words, too. And don't get me started on all the other shit you guys talk about homosexual people. When you're not reacting violently, you're laughing, making fun of them, and that's not just rude, it's disrespectful and degrading - and that's what Freed has been going through."_

_'Brutally honest' was a phrase applicable to all four of them._

_An awkward silence filled the room. Freed was looking down and so were the other two boys, who were looking away gingerly as Evergreen stared at them with a frown on her face._

_Freed sighed. He was lucky enough that there had been no violent reactions on the spot, but that was just the first hurdle. The real fight, he knew, would be to get them to eventually accept him._

_"Look, I know you guys don't-"_

_Bixlow quickly cut him off. "I was a jerk."_

_It surprised them to hear Laxus back their drummer up. "Me too."_

_"We were... uh... stupid." Bixlow continued, clearly trying very hard to keep going._

_"Stupid." Laxus repeated._

_Freed looked up at the other two young men. They were looking down at their laps, frowning and looking very disappointed with themselves._

_Bixlow spoke again. "And we were mean."_

_Laxus nodded. "...Mean."_

_"We were stupid and mean and we were discriminating."_

_"Discriminating."_

_"We're sorry, we didn't know we gave you a hard time. We'll never do those mean and stupid things again. We didn't know stuff. We never bothered to know or understand stuff before but now we're seeing that we were judgmental and... and stuff."_

_"Yeah." Laxus said, glancing at Bixlow before nodding to himself. "That."_

_Bixlow looked at their leader. "Why didn't you repeat that?"_

_"It was too long."_

_"So yeah. Um... We'll try to... uh... cope. Adjust, y'know. It's not really... there's nothing to adjust to, really. Just... we'll try not to offend 'ya. We were... mean."_

_"He's repeating himself but... yeah. Sorry if we made you feel like shit but nothing should change, yeah? Not that you're different now."_

_"Yeah, you're still you."_

_They both sounded really awkward, but at the same time, they were trying hard to tell Freed that they were honest. Both boys looked at their friend, only to see the green-haired bassist already crying his eyes out. Evergreen simply sighed, while Bixlow and Laxus panicked._

_"Shit, what's wrong with you?!"_

_"Don't cry, man!"_

_"Stop being so ga-"_

_"Don't finish that!"_

_"Arrrrgh-"_

_"Just hand him the tissues, okay?!"_

_Freed was handed the tissues. He accepted them with a shaky 'thanks' and they awkwardly watched as he tried to regain his composure. When Freed had finally stopped crying, Evergreen decided to take matters in her own hands. Laxus and Bixlow had tried their best and it was indeed very sweet of them, but they sucked at reassuring a friend who had just came out to them. God knows how hard that had been for Freed. Laxus and Bixlow made it better, but not that much._

_"Hear that, Freed?" the brunette said with a small sincere smile. "It doesn't matter to us. We're still your band."_

_Freed was still sniffing, holding the tissue box. "Thanks... Really. Thank you so much... I really thought... you'd be angry and disgusted at me-"_

_"NO! We're not, really not, never!" Laxus and Bixlow took turns in saying every variant of 'No' that they could think of._

_Ever ignored them and simply asked, "So… it's really just us? We're the only ones who know?"_

_"I don't know what mom and dad would do if they knew..."_

_"You can always count on us if you need anything." - at that, Bixlow and Laxus nodded as well. Obedient kids who were willing to follow what their seniors say, only Evergreen wasn't really their 'senior'. "You did well, sharing that. Don't worry about us - you're the one struggling here, for all we know."_

_"We got your back." Laxus said._

_Bixlow patted his friend's back and said cheerfully, "And why say 'that's so gay' when we can just say 'that's so Freed', right?"_

_Three glares._

_Bixlow got a tissue box to his face and he only groaned pitifully. "But knowing more than 7 colors is so Freed-"_

_Freed said, "Hit him for me."_

_"... OKAY I'M SORRY JUST PUT DOWN THAT GUITAR! PLEASE?"_

_As soon as Laxus had put down the said guitar, Bixlow spoke up again._

_"So right now, do you have a secret boyfriend?"_

_He should have asked after Laxus had really put the guitar away. Damn, that hurt._

* * *

Two hours before 'the date', Freed stood in front of Laxus - who was still in his flat working on music, strangely enough. The green-haired young man adjusted his coat and said, "Do I look okay?"

The answer was quick - "You look perfect in every way possible on every universe that exists."

"Wow, it's very kind of you to say that." Freed replied cheerfully, then continued, "Now may I bother you to actually LOOK AT ME?"

Laxus looked up from his arrangement and looked at his friend quickly, then returned to fiddling with his guitar and scribbling some tabs on a piece of paper he had undoubtedly stolen from Freed's stash.

He simply said, "Nice hair."

The other man started to panic. "Is something wrong with my hair?"

The blonde corrected himself. "No. Nothing. You look drop-dead gorgeous as always, Freed."

Freed sighed, exasperated, knowing that Laxus was humoring him to make him go away. "Laxuuuuusssss-"

"You look normal, okay? Drop-dead gorgeous is normal for you. You're also very... sparkly."

"Oh no - do I really look that sparkly? Is it the coat?"

"Nothing wrong with sparkly. Nothing wrong with the coat."

"Maybe I should change-"

Laxus groaned. "NO FOR FUCK'S SAKE - don't go back in there and switch clothes like a woman on the freakin' department store."

"But-"

"He'll like you! Everyone likes you - I like you - I mean, who wouldn't like you? So calm your manly tits and just go get 'im or you'll be running late. Do you always do this before going out?"

"Normally I ask Ever, but you're here, so..." Freed simply shook his head in defeat. "Well, I'm leaving. How about you? You'll be alone in here."

"Take the keys, I'll just go away when I finish this."

"You-"

"Yeah, I'll lock the door."

Freed had nothing more to say to that. He simply took his things, looked at his blonde friend one last time and left.

* * *

Freed decided to drop by the flower shop, only to see Levy, Jet and Droy hanging out together in the store. They greeted him cheerfully as he asked Droy's mother for a simple bouquet.

Freed simply smiled at the teens and chatted with them a bit as the flowers were being prepared. The bassist asked them about their plans for college. The three blurted out very different choices: Levy was applying for a university course in literature, Jet was looking into colleges with a scholarship program for athletes, while Droy shyly said that he wanted to study more on botany to carry on the family business. He saw both the excitement and nervousness in all three high school students. He remembered how the Raijinshuu had also struggled to come to terms with their high school graduation just a few years back.

Freed had been torn between taking law and studying classic literature. In the end, he took law. Bixlow's choices were art and computer science. The latter won. Evergreen was determined to study agriculture, while Laxus had decided to go for electrical engineering. Whether they had one choice or two, the challenge had been getting admitted to a college or a university. Thankfully all three of them were able to pull all the stops and they all got into the same university.

Freed shared a bit about their group study sessions before the entrance exams while the teens listened intently, determined to catch some tips. When they mentioned the upcoming mock exams, Freed offered to lend them his old reviewers. Levy very happily accepted the offer and told him that she would tell Erza, Lucy and the others as well.

The flowers were finished and the bassist had to bid goodbye to the trio. He wished them good luck and they thanked him for dropping by.

He headed to The Strauss'. He had set off from the flat extra early just for this little visit. He wanted to talk to a certain silver-haired barmaid for a bit.

* * *

The bar and cafe was a busy place on that Sunday. The first one to greet him was Kinana, ever cheerful and polite. He saw some familiar faces around: Cana was serving customers, Elfman was cleaning up some tables here and there, some patrons were present in the tables, and Lucy (to Freed's surprise) was helping Mirajane at the bar, looking like a complete newbie but holding up relatively well. Mira was busy instructing the blonde on her task when Freed sat by a stool on the bar.

"Freed!" the barmaid said, gracing him her immaculately angelic smile. Lucy looked up and nodded at him before focusing back on her work.

"You guys look busy." Freed smiled back and then offered the bouquet. "Here, these are for you."

"Oh, you shouldn't have!" Mira said, accepting the flowers gratefully and then leaning out to give him a swift kiss on the cheek. "These are really beautiful. Thank you, honey... Really, though... do you have to bring flowers every time you visit?"

"Well, they look good on the bar top." Freed shrugged, watching as Mira grabbed a spare vase, quickly filled it with water and set the bouquet in it. It was done pretty hastily (Evergreen would have screamed if she had seen it), but he understood that Mira was busy. "Really pretty busy, huh?"

"Yes, it's almost lunchtime, so people will be streaming in." Mira said, taking a break to talk to him for a while. "You're dressed up quite dashingly. Got a date?"

"Y-Yeah, you could say that..."

"Who is he? Is he still the same guy? From last time you dropped by?"

"Yes, the same guy. I actually came here to chat a little, but I guess I'll be bothering you too much."

"I can spare a few minutes!" Mira insisted. Then, she noticed the young man's expression. Freed's smile was quite subdued. "You don't look so enthusiastic about this, Freed."

The young man chuckled, looking down a bit. "Yes, well... that's true." Mira raised an eyebrow. "I just... don't feel too good about this anymore."

"Oh my." Mira frowned. "Why is that? It's been going well, right? You told me he's nice, polite..."

"Yes, but..."

Mira quickly came to a conclusion: "But he's not Laxus?"

Freed gaped, "Mira!" - he quickly looked at Lucy, but the blonde simply winked. Freed sighed, looking pointedly at the barmaid. Mira was smiling at him innocently. "No, it's not because he's not Laxus."

"How is he, by the way?"

"Doing fine. I left him in my flat just a while ago. He slept over last night after Bix threw out a pizza party."

Mira was delighted. "See, he likes you well enough to sleep over!"

"He's been sleeping over since ages ago." Freed sighed again. "C'mon, this is not about him."

"I had to try..." Mira shrugged. "So... this guy you're seeing. Really no sparks? Even after 2 months?"

"None." Freed said. "He's all nice and polite, and we can have interesting conversations..."

"Oh, please. _We_ have interesting conversations, dear."

"I know, and well... we have lunch and we go to places together."

"You can go with anyone to places."

"It's just... nothing's changed since we first started going out... two months ago. Scratch that, it's been 2 months and 3 weeks, so better count that as three months, right?"

"Aww..." Mira frowned deeper. "So... you're going nowhere?"

"Yes. We're going nowhere."

"Maybe he's just shy? You should take initiative!"

"I do! I ask him out, I ask him where he wants to go or what he wants to do, hell I even... even..."

"Even..?"

Freed looked down, blushing. "Even invited him if he would like to come over the flat..."

In his peripheral vision, he noted Lucy inching closer. Mira leaned forward and lowered her voice. "And..?"

"And he came over, complete with flowers and sweets..."

"...And?"

"We talked some more and had tea and it was just like we were having lunch out except we were having snacks in my flat."

"And?"

"And nothing."

Mira leaned back and sighed, disappointed. "Not even a kiss? Or... cuddly stuff? You've been talking since... since so long ago, right? So... there was more talking? And just more talking?"

"Yes. I think I... I bore him.."

The barmaid groaned. "So... that's it, huh?"

"That's it. That's the story. I don't know, Mira. It's like just having a new friend."

"So he's just... friend material."

"Yes, I think so..." Freed sighed, staring at the empty bar top. "What do I do?"

"Maybe you should ask him if he likes you." the barmaid said, too bluntly for Freed's taste. Mira sugarcoated things most of the time, but she also knew when to get straight to the point.

"Yeah, sure." the bassist rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious. Ask him if he likes you... that way. And you know what way I'm talking about."

"But-"

The barmaid clapped her hands together cheerfully. "And while at it, ask Laxus too!"

"Mira!" Freed groaned, basically pleading. "Please just stop..."

She crossed her arms across her chest. "Oh, stop it. You're being a hopeless schmuck. You're one of the best guys out there for guys and girls alike and I can't imagine anyone thinking you shouldn't be fancied."

The young man shook his head. Mira was just being her unbearably kind self as usual.

Just then, a group of teenagers approached the bar and Mira welcomed them cheerfully. Freed started to fix his coat while the barmaid looked at him with an encouraging smile. "Go get him out there. Think positive! Maybe something will finally happen!"

Freed gave her a smile back, shrugging. "Well, here goes nothing..."

Both Mirajane and Lucy wished him luck as he left. As the door closed beside him, Lucy looked at Mirajane curiously. "So... sparks."

"Sparks." Mira nodded. "What about sparks?"

"What about you? For him?"

Mira giggled, looking at Lucy with an amused smile. "We had our moments, right?"

Lucy only blinked, before nodding fervently.

The barmaid sighed. "But moments are just moments. And you know how I am... If it's love, I won't get in the way of it."

"You say that now..."

"Oh, I've been saying it since ages ago."

Lucy insisted. "Kidding aside, Mira. You and Freed!"

"The flowers are very sweet of him." Mira admitted, looking at the bouquet that was hastily put in the vase and catching it just in time before it toppled over. "But that's how he is. And this is how I am. You should know better than anyone that boys and girls can be friends and can stay friends. After all, you insist on that everytime we tease you with Natsu."

Lucy pouted. "Yeah, well... because it's true."

Mira winked, before going back to rearranging the bouquet on the vase. "There you have it."

"But still... Laxus? After all those years?"

This time Mira smiled a simple, wistful smile. "We can't do anything about that, can't we?"

Maybe... just maybe, it would work out. Mira knew there wasn't a happy ending to everything, but she still hoped for the best.

* * *

That night, Freed went home to find his flat empty. Laxus had left - there was a note saying so stuck on the fridge, alongside what looked like the final arrangement of the song that the blonde had been working on. There were still no lyrics. It looked like Laxus had decided to fully leave that task to his green-haired bandmate.

Putting down his things, taking off his coat, and promptly slumping down on the couch, Freed looked around. His room was clean - Laxus must have cleaned up the crumpled papers. The guitar was in its proper place. Laxus' spiked headphones were on the coffee table.

Freed paused.

Laxus' headphones were on his coffee table.

He sighed, picked the item up and stared down at it as he held it in his hands. After a few moments, Freed put the headphones around his neck, plugged it into his own mp3 player, turned the volume up, hit the play button and then sat back, sighing and closing his eyes, listening to the music. The headphones were only draped around his neck, but with the volume cranked up, the music was more than loud enough for him. Laxus always listened to his music on max volume. Freed was just the same. That was how they had become friends.

* * *

_Laxus, even in high school, had a reputation. He was a known delinquent. He had a scar on his ruggedly handsome face, his mouth was always set into a scowl or a frown if he wasn't sneering arrogantly, and he always had those spiked headphones on his shoulders. He never complied with the school's rules, always skipped class, got into fights and had temper tantrums, but he still had good grades. Everyone thought it was just principal Makarov favoring his one and only grandson. As such, before Raijinshuu, Laxus really was a loner._

_Freed was just the same. He was responsible, diligent and smart, but also silent and withdrawn. He was the model student who didn't really like other students very much. Being Ever's constant company didn't help, either - as Evergreen was also aloof and clammed up._

_The start of their friendship was abrupt. Freed and Evergreen were in the library, studying diligently, making reviewers for the upcoming exams, when Laxus practically barged inside. He was lucky that when he did, the librarian was out somewhere. Some students had looked up at him curiously and there were some who didn't even care._

_Outside the door, in the FairyGaku hallways, a high-pitched, familiar voice was shouting loudly enough for the whole school to hear, "LAXUS MOTHERFUCKING DREYAR, SHOW YOURSELF! FACE ME, YOU FRIGGIN' COWARD!"_

_It was one of Mira's and Laxus' typical bouts._

_Evergreen and Freed both yelped as the blonde student practically dived under their table. Evergreen was quick to draw her legs together and grip her skirt tightly in her seat while Freed looked at the blonde, scandalized._

_"Please get out of there." Freed said, trying to keep his voice even. He didn't know how to deal with the school's star delinquent._

_"No, Freed, let's just get out of here." Evergreen declared, starting to hurriedly gather her things._

_"I swear m'not here to look at your panties or whatever, just let me hide!" Laxus hissed. "Not in the mood for Mira's bullshit right now."_

_Evergreen only bit her lip and looked at her friend. Freed looked down at Laxus._

_The blonde looked back up at him. "Won't do anything fishy. Really. Just have to take a break 'cause that bitch is crazy. Sprained my ankle last time and it's still healing."_

_Outside, they heard another loud yell of "COME OUT AND STOP BEING A WUSS, DREYAR!"_

_Freed sighed. "Just... please don't disturb us."_

_"I'll be good." Laxus said simply. "She'll go away eventually, y'know. I'll be gone by then, too."_

_Evergreen spoke up again. "Seriously?"_

_Freed shrugged at the brunette, who simply moved to the other side of the table. Laxus was left sitting under the table, leaning against one of the furniture's legs, just beside Freed's knees._

_After a few more minutes of Mirajane's shouting, they all heard a teacher yelling back. Mirajane cursed and from the sound of hurried footsteps fading, they all assumed that the school's resident yankee had withdrawn._

_"She's gone now." Freed said absently, not even taking his eyes off this work. Laxus, quite a tall and muscled young man even then, looked very awkward hiding under the table, but the blonde seemed perfectly comfortable as he looked up at Freed and patted the other student's knee in dismissal._

_"I owe you one." he grunted out._

_"Please don't mention it." was Freed's automatic reply. He meant it. He didn't want to be involved with such a delinquent._

_When Laxus made no move to stand, Freed and Evergreen both looked down at him in curiosity. Laxus was engrossed on his mp3 player, probably picking out a song. Then, finally pressing the 'play' button, he put the player back in his pocket and was about to put his headphones on when he noticed them staring at him with narrowed eyes._

_"Why are you still there?" Evergreen asked._

_"It's a nice place." was the very simple reply. "Very quiet." Before the two could retort, Laxus had his headphones on, blocking them out._

_Evergreen groaned, looking at Freed and gesturing him to 'Do something about this!'_

_Freed only shrugged. 'You try.' The truth was that they were afraid that the delinquent would use violence on them._

_The brunette shook her head, adjusted her glasses, and then went back to work. All the while, Freed tried to concentrate a much as he could with a dangerous delinquent sitting under the table listening to his headphones that blasted rock music as if they were speakers. A few minutes later, Freed picked up the familiar stifled sound coming from the blonde's headphones. He listened for a few more seconds - it was hard to pick it up, but Laxus's headphones were loud enough for the green-haired student to recognize his favorite band's first hit single. Freed waited for a few more minutes. Two more songs from the same band._

_Evergreen watched with wide eyes as Freed gingerly poked Laxus' shoulder and the blonde, annoyed, put down his headphones to listen to the other student._

_"What do you want?"_

_"Do you... um... like that band?"_

_Laxus blinked. "Ya kiddin' me? They're fucking awesome, though I guess rich pretty boys like you would like... what, Mozart?"_

_Freed couldn't help but smirk. "Mozart can suck it. That band's actually my favorite."_

_A pause. "Now, you're really kiddin' me. Not a single shitty soul here in town who like 'em, says the music is too trashy-"_

_"But I do. Nobody appreciates their bass, but it's actually one of the best out there, and the lead-"_

_"The lead parts are friggin' made in heaven-"_

_"I know, and that drum solo in-"_

_"Fuck those drum solos, they should make a track that's just pure drum solo-"_

_"...Really?"_

_"Seriously, man."_

_Evergreen breathed deeply and just tried her best to take it all in. It all got harder when Laxus actually stood up and sat on the chair next to Freed as they continued to talk about a band that the brunette never even knew existed._

_"Did you hear their new album yet?"_

_"Nah, got no money to buy it, tried listenin' to it for free at the store but they just wanna kick me out everytime. The radio stations play it, though, but like, once a day. And just that one song. Nobody fucking appreciates good music-"_

_"I can lend you my copy... if you swear to take care of it."_

_"No, shit. 'Ya serious?"_

_"Just promise you'll-"_

_"I'd never harm a holy object-"_

_Just then, the library doors opened and a furious silver-haired student walked in, followed by her own gang of delinquents. She quickly spotted her blonde nemesis. "Dreyar, you fucking try hiding from me under your girlfriend's skirt again..."_

_"Wow. Rude, Mira. Very rude. He's a guy." Laxus said, standing up slowly. He limped slightly, Freed noted. He wasn't lying about the sprain._

_Mirajane scoffed. "You do boys now?"_

_Laxus shrugged arrogantly. "Way better than you do."_

_"You son of a-"_

_Laxus leaned down shortly to whisper to Freed, "I'll see 'ya around." before dashing towards the nearest window and making a quick escape. Mirajane ran after him._

_Freed had nothing to answer when Evergreen raised an eyebrow at him._

_"Are you serious?" the brunette asked._

_"Not like he's doing anything... wrong."_

_"Yet."_

_Freed sighed. "Yet."_

_The rest was history._

* * *

Three tracks in, Freed heard knocking on his door. He didn't take the headphones off his shoulders as he stood up, patted down his shirt and headed to answer to his guest.

Freed opened the door and was greeted by the sight of Evergreen, with Elfman standing behind her carrying a steaming tray of a very delicious-looking pie. It looked fresh out of the oven.

"Hey-"

"I baked!" Evergreen said proudly.

Freed nodded slowly. "I can see that."

The brunette looked at him with an expectant smile_ 'Say something else, honey...'_

"Wow. Why?" Freed said, with a small smile this time.

"I don't know why, too. We felt like cooking together!" Evergreen answered, still confident. Behind her, Elfman shrugged helplessly. "Let's eat it!"

Freed chuckled. Evergreen was in a rarely good mood. "Alright, just... let me finish up some things here and I'll come over."

Evergreen shook her head frantically. "No, no, I mean, let's eat it here at your place! You shouldn't be all home alone in this pleasant Sunday night-"

"Okay, what happened?" Freed asked quickly, to which Evergreen was caught off guard and she answered automatically.

"My place is a mess." she said.

"Why?"

She smiled guiltily. "Uh..."

Freed stared at her, then turned his gaze towards Elfman.

Elfman didn't give that much of a fight. "We made like... ten pies before getting it right and now the oven smells."

Freed simply rolled his eyes before letting them in. "This pie better taste good or it'll shame the ten other ones before it."

"This one is good, I promise." Evergreen said, letting herself in. Elfman immediately followed, heading straight for the dining table to put down the steaming plate. He still had Evergreen's very manly flower-patterned oven mitts on, so as soon as his hands were free he instantly took them off.

Freed walked towards the kitchen to get plates and utensils. Evergreen helped set up the table as Elfman went back to his girlfriend's apartment to do a quick double-check on things. They weren't exactly sure that they hadn't left the stove on...

Evergreen took note of the headphones around her friend's shoulders and looked around. "Is Laxus still here?"

"He left earlier."

"Without his headphones?"

"Yeah..."

"Taking advantage of that, huh."

Freed shook his head, self-consciously adjusting the headphones on his shoulders. "No, it's just that they were there on the couch already and I'm too lazy to take out my own..."

Evergreen accepted the answer easily. She nodded as Elfman went back in and closed the door behind him. "You had a date today, right? How was it?"

"It went well." Freed answered simply as the three of them finally sat down and began to eat.

"You say that every time." the vocalist said.

"Isn't that good?" Elfman tried reasoning out, sensing that his girlfriend was about to go on a rant. "It's going well, so it's good."

Freed gave him a discreet grateful look, but Evergreen still held out. "Yes it's good, but it could be better."

"Don't start now..." Freed pleaded.

She kept asking, though - "You're being boring! Anything new?"

"Ever, you're going to ruin the pie." Elfman tried.

Freed backed him up. "And the pie is delicious, so let's all just be happy."

The brunette rolled her eyes and pouted. "It's unfair, you two ganging up on me."

They all ate in silence after that, until Elfman started to talk about college. Freed and Evergreen quickly picked up on the subject as they were all on the same page about the famous topics in their university. The new buildings, changes in policies, some stray rumors in the different departments... the topic never returned to Freed's date.

That night, Evergreen and Elfman helped their kind host clean up before they left to go back to the brunette's apartment and clean their own mess.

Freed left the headphones on his bedside table as he changed his clothes and prepared for bed. He replied to Laxus' text about the item, saying that he would just bring it with him so he could give it back the next time they met up.

Elfman dropped by Freed's to quickly say 'bye and thanks' before he went home.

Finally, that night, Freed sighed as he lay in his bed, under the confines of his sheets, loosely hugging Rune-chan and trying to fall asleep.

He grunted when he realized that Rune-chan smelled strange. Freed shook his head as he realized that the stuffed animal, the pillow and the blankets smelled faintly of who must certainly be Laxus, after the blonde slept on them last night and the morning after. Freed cursed whatever brand of cologne or perfume or shampoo that Laxus used. Dammit, the smell was strange and familiar and why did it have to stick to his teddy bear? It made Freed think of unnecessary things.

He'd always kept his feelings buried - their friendship was too important to ruin like that, and Laxus had a dozen more issues about himself and his family to deal with. What little of Freed's feelings that he letout simply got mistaken as a strong bond of trust and friendship. In high school, everyone knew that Raijinshuu was faithful to its leader. It was probably out of their fear of Laxus' violent streak, they all said. It was different with Freed. Laxus was his second real friend, next to Evergreen.

Freed's friendship with Laxus had been harder and rougher than his friendship with Evergreen. Ever was a silent but awkward girl with no friends, she needed Freed to be her foil most of the time, and she followed what he said in the end. Then came Laxus, and Freed knew that he couldn't boss the other guy around. They also had so many differences that it still surprised them both how they got around accepting those. Laxus had temper tantrums and a million problems up his sleeve. While Freed solved most of Ever's problems for her, he couldn't do that for Laxus. He just watched and waited, occasionally cheering on the sidelines.

Freed had learned how to actually 'follow' someone. Where Laxus went, Freed and Evergreen followed. They were outstanding students letting a known delinquent lead them and they knew why. Laxus never took them anywhere without them knowing. He always told them first, as if he didn't want them involved in whatever shit he was getting himself into. Funny, that was exactly why they followed anyway. Laxus never said out loud that he wanted them with him, but he always made them feel important whenever they stood by him. Freed had a chance to be treated normally for once. Laxus didn't care about who he was, what he was supposed to do, and about how different they were. Where Evergreen had her reservations and still had set certain standards on how she and Freed worked, Laxus didn't hold anything back. Laxus just let everything flow naturally.

Bixlow came a little later, and it was a different sort of relationship again. Freed always felt like he had to take care of the drummer. Bixlow was childish and easily distracted, and Freed somehow ended up with another Evergreen again. Someone to straighten out and watch over.

And Laxus? He was still that one guy with problems bigger than anything Freed ever handled for Ever and Bix. But he always told them that he had it covered, and they would just watch him deal with it.

When Freed came out to his friends and Laxus accepted him anyway, that was when Freed knew that he would never ever be able to tell Laxus his real feelings. Laxus was too important a person for Freed to lose.

Freed lied to Evergreen. The date didn't go well. Everything was normal, but Freed knew that his date was acting distantly. They talked, ate their lunch, sipped their tea and talked some more as they walked around the mall, but Freed felt farther from the guy than usual. It all ended well, too - they said their goodbyes, a chaste but discreet kiss on the cheek because it seemed proper for two people who had been dating for 3 months, and then they took their separate ways.

Freed spent the rest of the afternoon walking around town. He dropped by the toy store to check on Bixlow. They talked a bit. Bixlow couldn't focus much on the bassist as he was busy sorting out the shop's new arrivals. Instead, Freed listened to his friend rant about the toys in the shop. Bix hated the dolls with the skimpy clothing and he preferred the baby Disney princesses, he wanted the superhero and magical girl action figures in their display shelves, and he was wondering why no one was buying the winged cat stuffed toys yet. Freed had to admit that the winged cats were cute. He would have bought one if he liked those sorts of things.

When Bixlow got too busy, Freed went back to The Strauss'. Mira was still focused on teaching Lucy, but Freed found Gildarts sitting alone in the bar. They talked a bit about college admissions and how Freed and his friends were doing. Gildarts was concerned about Cana's plans after high school and Freed listened to him. It helped Freed take his mind off of things when he listened to others.

Maybe that was why Mira made herself into everyone's counselor after what happened with Lisanna. It was comforting in a way. People forgot their own problems when they listened to other people's.

This was one of the things that Laxus gave Freed, too. More friends. A second family. If Freed hadn't met his band, he wouldn't know the Strauss siblings, Gildarts would still be a passing acquaintance, Erza and her friends would just be some familiar faces with no names, and Principal Makarov would just be the school's principal and not the supportive father figure who Freed knew cared genuinely for him and offered advice when needed.

Freed breathed deeply, burrowing his face against the teddy bear again. His thoughts always started and ended with Laxus these days. It was probably because it just so happened that the blonde was around him too much the past few weeks. Their university schedules had been kind to all band members and they had time to practice a lot. Outside practice, there was that time when Laxus brought him breakfast, and Bixlow always managed to drag them with him to various places. Not to mention, Bixlow just randomly decided on that pizza party the previous night...

Freed grunted again. He had long accepted that Laxus would always be one of his closest friends and he had learned to numb himself from the pain that that was really all there would ever be between them. He was sure that he was comfortable staying wherever he was.

But these days, he found himself, yet again, hoping.

He simply tried to sleep. It was just Mira's words earlier that day that had gotten him thinking crazy thoughts, he was sure. Freed shrugged it all off and closed his eyes. He hoped he was tired enough to fall asleep even with all the thoughts on his head.

* * *

The following week was hectic.

Freed had a day full of lecture subjects on Monday. The band never got together on Mondays - their schedules wouldn't allow it, but Laxus found time to drop by one of his classes to pick his headphones up. Bixlow found Freed sitting alone at lunchbreak but the drummer couldn't stay long so he simply left the bassist with a bar of chocolate.

Freed had an important exam on Tuesday, so even when he sat with his band on their free period, they kept their distance and allowed him to study.

He didn't have classes on Wednesday, but he offered to help Bixlow on his project. Bix did very well on the computer science stuff, but when it came to documentation, the drummer fell short. Freed spent almost the whole day in Bixlow's dorm room reading, editing and revising his friend's paper while the other student busied himself with adjusting his program. Evergreen came over at lunch and dinner to bring them food, just making sure that the boys were still alive.

On Thursday, Freed worked on his own paper. He spent the day on the library, making good progress. To return the previous day's favor, Bixlow came over to bring his friend lunch, complete with dessert. He offered to help, but Freed dismissed him quickly - he was doing just fine. The drummer stayed, though. He read whatever manga and comics he found in the library and just kept Freed company. Freed found it very sweet that Bixlow had decided to stick with him until he went home.

"Hey, Freed?"

"Hm?"

"You do know... Wait, don't be mad at me, okay?"

Freed looked up shortly. "Just say it, Bix."

Bix hid his face behind his comic book. "You do know that Laxus has never had a girlfriend since birth even when he has fangirls and chicks all over him, right? For a dude with a bad guy reputation, Laxus never even messed around with girls... Well, he can be a perv and a jerk to them and he flirts sometimes, but he never really... y'know... got it on... with 'em."

Freed put down his pen and raised an eyebrow. "...Yeah, and?"

"I have more experience than him, too. Which is really freakin' weird."

Freed nodded slowly. "..So?"

"So it's either he's being a sap who's been in love with someone forever... or... he doesn't like girls at all."

"Your point being...?"

"Maybe you should just tell 'im that, I quote this comic: _'You want to have his adopted babies'_."

"What the hell, Bix." Freed deadpanned.

Bixlow shrugged. "Just tell 'im that you've been in love with him for ten years now!"

And while Evergreen failed in bringing her point across, Bixlow succeeded by violently slapping Freed in the face with it.

"I've only known him for seven." The bassist rolled his eyes. "What brought this on?"

"The comic book."

"That's it." Freed declared. "You've had enough comics today. Put that back, I'll finish up here, we'll eat dinner, then we'll go home."

Bixlow closed the comic book and grinned. "See, listen to yourself! You'd make a good mom for the adopted babies."

Freed glared.

Bixlow pouted. "Fine, I'm taking this back..." He stood up, gathered all the manga and comics he had borrowed, and obediently went to put them back to their shelves.

On Friday, Freed only had one lecture class. He spent the rest of the day finishing up his paper, while in the afternoon, he welcomed Erza, Lucy, Levy, Laki and Bisca to his flat. He had offered them his old reviewers for the university entrance exams and the girls came over to fetch the notes. He was glad to help, digging up the beat-up notebooks from his dusty old stack of reviewers. He still remembered Erza, Levy, Laki and Bisca as young middle school girls back then and it made him nostalgic seeing them finally close to graduating from high school.

He had a date on Saturday.

It didn't go as planned. He couldn't tell anyone that it went well, either. He would be lying.

It was strange, he thought. It didn't really hurt. Freed didn't know if he was supposed to be sad, but he knew that he was slightly disappointed with himself. Mira had wished him luck before he went to meet up with his date for lunch. She thanked him for the flowers and told him to just hang on and keep hoping. He was doing well, she said - he was his usual brilliant self and he shouldn't worry about anything.

Mira was so good at sugar-coating that Freed almost believed her.

But then it happened. The relationship was officially over and Freed was disappointed because it didn't hurt.

Suddenly, he felt so empty that Saturday afternoon. After they parted ways - with apologetic smiles, '_goddammit were we faking it that much?_' - Freed stood alone for a while.

He knew he should have told someone, just to get that bit of info out - but who? Mira? He knew that it was a weekend and she would be busy. Evergreen was busy with a project. She texted the boys to _"Go away for the weekend 'coz I'm planting plants. Thnx." _that morning. If Freed went to Bixlow, the drummer would just tell him to pursue Laxus.

_'The news could wait'_, Freed decided then. _'Not like anyone's dying for an update.'_

He decided to go home, still feeling empty. He then remembered how almost every kid in their little circle of friends coped with problems.

"There's nothing Yajima-san's best cake couldn't do." - Laxus himself said, once. All of them agreed on that one fact.

Freed turned on his heels and decided that maybe a triple chocolate cake would make him feel better. He was sure that Bix and Laxus would tease him for being a girl on her period but Freed could just shrug them off easily. He knew that Bix indulged himself with a tub of double dutch ice cream and that Laxus drinked at least three servings of iced coffee whenever they were feeling down. Ever ate everything whenever she felt depressed, but then again, it was Ever so the boys generally just chose to shut up and back off.

When Freed stepped inside Yajima-san's bakery, Gray was behind the counter, wrapping up several bags of various pastries for Headmaster Dreyar.

"You're coming over tonight too, Gray?" Makarov asked the raven-head who was diligently working on the counter.

"Yeah, will drop by a bit to copy some stuff from the girls. Head straight there after my shift. Juvia will come from swimming practice too, so maybe we'll go together." Gray replied. "I have a shift tonight at the Pegasus, though. So I'll be leaving earlier than the others."

"Hm. You and Juvia-chan should stay until dinner, then." Makarov laid a couple of bills on the counter.

Gray quickly accepted the payment and then worked on the cash register for the change. "Will be glad to, principal." He looked up as Freed walked towards them. "Hey, Freed."

"Hey." Freed greeted back.

"Freed! Haven't seen you for a while, my boy." Makarov said.

Freed smiled apologetically. "Been pretty busy, principal."

"Erza's having some friends over, studying for mock exams, they said... so I'm buying some snacks and desserts for them after dinner. They said they got some useful notes from you, too."

Freed answered gingerly. "Ah, they picked them up yesterday. It's nothing, really. Those notes would've gone to waste if I didn't pass those on to them, anyways."

"They're lucky you kept them. Laxus doesn't even remember if he kept his reviewers or not." Makarov shook his head hopelessly, then graced his old student with his friendly smile. "He's buying groceries right now. I'm going to cook dinner for the children. You should come over, too. Have dinner with us."

"Ah, I shouldn't-... It's for-..."

"It's just us." Makarov said. "Come on, Freed. Or do you have plans for tonight?"

Freed shook his head. "I could be intruding..."

"Nonsense. And Laxus would like you around. He's still acting all grumpy around me." Makarov said. "Erza will be happy, too - since her brothers's always teasing her about her new friend... Y'know, you could get my grandson to lay off on poor Erza for once. The girl would be too busy blushing."

The bassist had no choice, then. It would be good to be around people. He never really liked eating dinner alone - he always ate dinner with Ever on the quiet nights when they were both alone in their respective apartment units. He simply smiled. "Alright. I guess I can't say 'no' now, could I?"

"Great." Makarov said, very pleased. "Someone to help me make dinner, since my one and only grandson is still hopeless in the kitchen."

Freed ordered a slice of the chocolate cake just in case, and then helped the old man with the multiple paper bags of various pastries and desserts.

They made their way towards the town square's mermaid fountain, where Makarov was to meet up with Laxus after the blonde finished buying the groceries.

As they walked together, Makarov started talking. "So, how are you doing in college, Freed? I know you're surely doing brilliant, but this old man just had to ask..."

"I'm doing really well, principal. It's hard, of course... Law can be so boring sometimes, but I find myself enjoying it once in a while."

"Laxus always talks about how your subjects make him sleepy. But he complains about every other thing anyways." Makarov said. "And... your family? I bet they're proud of you being an outstanding student."

"I'm not really all that." Freed said, smiling gingerly. "I just... study a lot and get good grades for it, but I'm not a prodigy like your grandson."

"Laxus doesn't work hard because it all looks easy to him." Makarov said, frowning. "Speaking of Laxus, is that boy really doing fine? I'm not getting calls from anyone sayin' he's causing trouble, but I can't really be sure..."

"He gets into arguments with a lot of people, but they're mostly too afraid of him to even fight back." Freed said. "Other than that, he's quite focused on studying and just making music."

"Aa. Seems the delinquent has stepped back a bit, hm..."

"It seems like it." Freed smiled lightly. "He raided that Phantom turf last time, though. And alone. That scared us, but he was unharmed anyway... He really shouldn't dive headfirst on those things by himself."

"He doesn't look like it, but he cares for his sister and her friends." Makarov nodded. "But I agree, he should've called first, or brought someone else with him."

"He always forgets that I'm trained in fencing and that Bix can be a fighting machine when he feels like it." Freed said with a minute frown. "But aside from that, he hasn't gotten into trouble in a while."

They reached the mermaid fountain and found no sign of Laxus. The blonde was probably still at the grocery. The two sat on a bench and settled down their bags, spending the time in companionable silence.

After a few minutes, Makarov said, "Watch over him for me, will you, Freed?"

Freed blinked. The old man was smiling, looking towards Laxus, who was walking towards them with several bags of groceries.

"Make sure he doesn't get into trouble." Makarov continued.

Freed's reply was shaky. "P-Principal, I'm not your grandson's keeper, surely you know that."

"Oh, but you might as well be." the old man continued. "He listens to you."

"I hate to say this, but he really doesn't." Freed chuckled. "If he listened to me, he wouldn't have gotten into half of all the trouble he got himself into."

"Yes, but he comes back to you after and says he should've listened to you, doesn't he? One of these days, he'll grow out of being the rebel that he is and he'll finally learn to actually listen to you. He always knows you're right, after all. He just likes having his way, because that's how he is. Stubborn and stupid with enough pride to power the whole town. I think you know that, too."

"Principal..."

Before Freed could go on, Laxus was in front of them, looking at them curiously. "Yo.", he greeted. "The old man made you carry his bags?"

"No, he's being a nice young gentleman and helping us out tonight." Makarov said, standing up and stretching.

"Sorry for not being a domestic goddess, then." Laxus huffed, waiting for Freed and Makarov to pick up their bags.

The three of them started to walk home. Laxus spoke up again, "It's good that you're here, though, Freed. You cook better than Gramps."

"Please, Laxus." Freed rolled his eyes.

"See how rude he is?" Makarov complained. "No respect for his grandfather."

Freed smiled as he listened to grandfather and grandson bicker on their way home. It really was a good decision to be around people. It made him feel less empty. He has a good family, he was doing well in his studies, and he had the best friends and second family he could ever ask for. Really, what else did he need?

* * *

When they arrived at the Dreyar residence, there were already several extra pairs of shoes by the entrance.

"Some of them are early." Makarov commented. When they walked inside, they found Erza with Jellal, Mystogan and Wendy chatting in the living room.

Wendy and Erza were huddled closely together as they looked through old photo albums of Erza and her friends. Jellal was watching them silently and Mystogan was leafing through a novel.

"Master." Erza said, looking up. She blinked when she saw Freed with them, not expecting the other young man.

"Why are there two of your boyfriend?" Laxus blurted out carelessly.

Erza hid her annoyance and was about to introduce her friends, but the siblings beat her to it.

Surprisingly, it was Mysto who took the lead. "Good afternoon, headmaster Makarov."

"Ah, that one's Mystogan-kun." Makarov grinned. "This other young man must be your twin. You're the one from Sorciere?"

"Jellal, sir." the other young man said. He nodded politely at Laxus. "It's good to see you again, Laxus-san."

"Ah, so one's the scholar guy and the other one is ours, eh?" Laxus mumbled.

"And this is their little sister, Wendy." Erza said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Wendy, meet my guardian and FairyGaku headmaster Makarov, my brother Laxus, and Freed, his bandmate. They both went to FairyGaku for high school."

Wendy bowed at them shyly. "A pleasant afternoon..."

"I remember you." Freed smiled. "You're Romeo's partner for the Kite Fest, right?"

"H-hai!" Wendy said, smiling. "Um... Romeo-kun also talks a lot about your band..."

"He does that." Laxus said, adjusting the bags on his arms. He gestured for Freed to follow him to the kitchen to put down their groceries.

"We'll leave you children for now." Makarov said, waving a little. "I bought some snacks for you, so just give us a few minutes to sort them out-"

Erza immediately started to stand up. "I'll help-"

"No, no, you just attend to our guests." the old man reassured the red-head, heading for the kitchen where Freed was preparing the pastries and Laxus was unpacking the groceries.

"But-"

"Laxus and Freed are helping me, we'll be alright! Just stay with your friends." Makarov said.

That was what Erza was worried about: Laxus and Makarov both working in the kitchen at the same time. "Are... Are you sure?" she asked.

Freed seemed to read her mind, as the college student simply turned to her with a reassuring smile and said, "Don't worry. I've got this!"

"Got what?" - that bit came from both grandfather and grandson.

Freed didn't let it faze him. Instead, he simply said, "We should make orange juice to go with these pastries."

Mystogan and Wendy left shortly after the snacks were served. They had only stopped by to bug Jellal, after all. They really were headed to one of Wendy's classmates' birthday party. Mystogan had promised his sister that he would take her there and stay a while before going back to join his own friends in their study group. Jellal and Erza did not have to wait long, though - as they were quickly joined by Lucy, Natsu, Levy, Jet, Droy, Laki and Alzack. After another hour, Cana, Bisca, Juvia and Gray arrived and joined the students diligently studying for the upcoming mock exams. Erza was worried that with all the FairyGaku students, Jellal would feel out of place, but Natsu and Gray helped ease the tension as they were already familiar with the new guy. Mystogan also came back just in time for dinner.

The Dreyar household's dining room wasn't really big, so Freed, Laxus and Makarov ended up serving dinner in the living room. It was a lively affair, with Makarov and the high school students entangled in a very animated and lively exchange of stories and jokes. The old man for once wasn't acting as their school's headmaster, but as the playful father figure who liked to tease the kids and give out interesting snippets and anecdotes. Laxus kept quiet as they all ate. Freed laughed with the others but otherwise simply acted as audience. When the chatter died down and it was time to return to studying, Laxus and Freed automatically stood to clean up and do the dishes. Seeing this, the high school students quickly stopped them and insisted that they would just clean up after themselves. Gray and Cana, already used to working in restaurants and diners, quickly cleared the tables, while Lucy, Erza and Juvia did not take 'no' for an answer when they said they would wash the dishes.

Makarov had retired to the dining table, reading a book. Freed and Laxus were left standing idly by as their kouhai did the chores. When both realized that they had nothing else to do, Freed took his cake and Laxus grabbed a can of beer from the fridge, then both disappeared upstairs so as to not distract the teenagers. Freed contemplated heading home, but Laxus looked like he could use some company. It would be boring for him to stay all alone in his room while the others were all together downstairs.

Both of them found themselves spending the time in companionable silence, with Freed eating his cake while Laxus drank his beer. They were both sitting on the blonde's bed, only a big Pikachu stuffed toy stuck between them as they both leaned their backs against the wall. The stuffed toy was from Bixlow several years ago. It was the same Christmas when Bixlow gave Freed the teddy bear that they named Rune-chan.

Freed held out the slice of cake to his friend. "You sure you don't want some?"

"Nah, I'm good." Laxus grunted out. "Thanks for helpin' out, by the way. I couldn't have helped gramps cook all that food."

"It's alright. It feels nice to be around all of them again, anyways. I've almost forgotten how loud we could be."

"Bix and Ever aren't even included yet." Laxus chuckled. "Add in Mira and Elfman too, and you got yourself a riot."

Freed nodded, chewing thoughtfully. The cake was really good. As expected of Yajima-san's. Seeing everyone, talking to Laxus, eating his comfort food... he was feeling better already.

Laxus glanced at his friend before looking back down, absent-mindedly tugging on a loose thread on his pants with his free hand. He looked for a topic of conversation. "How did the old man find you anyway?"

"I came across him when I bought this cake."

"Hm." Laxus nodded. "You had another date today."

Freed smiled. "How did you know?"

"You were wearing the sparkly coat and walkin' around town alone."

"Yeah, well... we did go out, yes."

"Still doin' good, huh."

"Actually, it's over."

Laxus paused. Freed put down his fork, staring down at the half-finished slice of cake.

The bassist said, "We decided to stop dating."

Laxus looked at his friend, blinking. "What? You told me last week everythin' going well and he's nice, right?"

"Yes, and that was true." Freed answered patiently, reaching out to lay the plate of cake on Laxus' bedside table. He was kinda disappointed that Laxus of all people would be the first one to know, and that they had to talk about it tonight of all nights, just when he was finally feeling happier. Nevertheless, Freed knew that the subject wouldn't even last. Laxus had a habit of letting topics like this drop because he never liked talking about it. So Freed continued, "We just... wanted to stop it already. It's not working out, we're going nowhere, and... and he just doesn't see me like that, I guess."

"Doesn't see you like what?" Laxus had put down his drink and was looking at his bandmate.

Freed kept himself patient. "He doesn't... like me that way. He doesn't like me enough to... want to move the relationship further."

"Bullshit. What's not to like about you?"

The bassist let a small smile cross his face. "I don't know. It's alright. Don't worry about it." he said with a shrug. "I'm okay."

"You're not. That's why you have the cake." Laxus said, frowning. Freed had hugged his knees to his chest. "And fuck, don't cry. I don't know how to deal with you cryin'."

"I won't cry." Freed reassured him.

"But you're sad. Dammit. Eat the fucking cake. Please."

That made the bassist chuckle. "I'm okay, I swear."

"No, you're not. Remember last year when this bastard freakin' cheated on you and you were so sad? Right now you looked like that, just before you broke down crying on Ever."

"This one didn't cheat on me. He's just..."

"He's just what? Just blind to how awesome you are or something?"

"No, he's in love with someone else. Someone who doesn't... love him back, and-"

"But he still went out with you. That little shit."

Freed shook his head. "He was trying to forget about it, but sadly, no matter how _'awesome'_ I am, he couldn't. So he thought it wouldn't be fair for me and... well, I just told him that he should go for who he truly wants to be with."

"He should've told you earlier. Should've known what it feels like for you because you feel the same, you like him but he doesn't-"

"Laxus." Freed cut him off. "I like someone else, too. Someone who's not him, and he knows it - and we both agreed to stop making a fool of ourselves and just stop. We're good friends, really. He decided to break up because he knows we're both in love with someone else, anyway."

Laxus stared at him. This time he looked confused. This was why he never liked talking about these things. "...So now there's another one?"

"Yes. There's another one." From that point on, Freed knew that he should start being more careful with his words. He almost said, _'It's you, stupid.'_ He hadn't expected Laxus to push the subject further in the first place.

"Is this the guy before this one, because you were really upset when that bastard made you think he liked you and then dumped you. Or is this the cheating one from last year, or-"

"Not them. I haven't told him yet. He doesn't know."

"So there's someone else I don't know about."

"Yes."

"I bet Ever knows."

"Mm-hm."

"...Shit, is this Mirajane? You keep on bringing her flowers but she thinks you're gay, and-"

Freed laughed. "No. Not Mira. Not a girl."

"Okay then. Please tell me it's not Bixlow."

"It's not Bixlow."

"Good. 'Cause no offense to Bix, but he's mental."

Freed laughed.

Laxus was still thinking. "...Do I know this guy?"

At this, Freed finally thought it appropriate to lie. "No. You don't."

The blonde snorted. "You're lying. I do."

"You don't."

"Gut feeling says I do. You wouldn't be that careful otherwise."

Freed rolled his eyes. That was some smooth lie in there. When did Laxus know how to read him? "Fine, then. You know him."

"And you're not tellin' me, are you?" he said, finally returning to his drink. The beer had warmed slightly, but Laxus didn't mind.

"Yeah. Don't take it personally. It's not like I'm telling him, either."

"Why not? He got a boyfriend? Girlfriend?"

"No, I just don't think he'll ever reciprocate."

"He's stupid then."

After a while, Freed agreed. "...Yeah. Very stupid."

"Stupid fucker doesn't know how lucky he is."

Freed looked at Laxus, who had just finished his beer and had tossed it to the nearby trash bin. He missed, but the blonde simply grunted and crossed his arms across his chest, ignoring the empty can on his bedroom floor.

"Eat the cake. You still look like you're going to cry."

The bassist sighed and took the plate back. Laxus was right - he had to finish the slice, at least. "Thanks for listening to me."

"Heh. Not like I could help anyways. Ever and Mira give useful advice. Not me. Just here to listen and ask and make you sadder and shit."

"Not really. It's actually good, finally telling someone. I was thinking of just eating this cake at home, alone... maybe I'd have cried then."

"He hurt you real bad, huh."

"No, not really-"

"I mean, this guy you like. He hurt you real bad. Just bein' himself and all that. 'Cause you can't tell him."

Freed let out a small smile. Sometimes they gave Laxus less credit that what he really deserved. He knew a thing or two about this, after all. "Yes. It hurts. Really badly."

"And with the others... it hurts too?"

"Well, it stings... but it doesn't hurt as much." Freed knew - all his relationships could crumble down and all the guys he dated could dump him and cheat on him, but no one would hurt him as much as Laxus.

"Then what the fuck are you doin', carryin' extra weight when there's already something there?" Laxus asked, with a hint of annoyance. Now he was the one disappointed. Freed should've learned by the first time that setting himself up for extra pain would definitely not lessen the existing one. But the green-haired young man had insisted over and over again on the same mistakes. It was so unlike him. Laxus knew that Freed wasn't stupid. Freed was smart and dignified... and he always knew what to do.

But Laxus also knew that love made people stupid, so he tried to be kinder. Freed was hurt, so Laxus was supposed to shut his trap and just be a friend.

He didn't know that that was what hurt Freed the most - him being just a friend.

"Y'know... you should tell him."

Freed had just finished his cake. The statement caught him off guard. "...W-What?"

Laxus shrugged, scratching his head and trying to give advice for once. "Tell 'im, just to be fair. Yeah, he'll never know how 'ya feel if you never tell him, but he'll never know how much he hurt you too, and he's not even doin' anything. I mean, for me itd suck if I didn't know that I'm hurting someone, but y'know, it'd feel really good to know someone cares that much about me. I'd feel really shitty after, because what if I'd been a total jerk to someone who really cares about me? But then I get the chance to apologize too... so maybe it ain't all that bad. I know it wouldn't be my fault if I can't care about someone like that, but... hell, I'd still be sorry. Half-sorry and half-happy 'cause hey, someone loves me. Just... it'll be a mixed bag, y'know."

"...You... You really think that?"

Laxus nodded. "Yeah. I get it, you don't wanna tell 'cause you don't want to be rejected, but he oughtta feel bad rejecting, too. I mean... fuck, if he hurts you, hurt him a bit, too. Like a minor bitchslap or somethin'. I think it'll be awkward afterwards but hell, at least he knew. And he can't complain. He should be grateful, y'know. What's better than being loved by someone even when they know you've been a dense little shit? It's a thanks-but-no-thanks thing. Thanks for loving me because that's really nice, but I can't love you back because... hell, insert-reason-here."

"You... really think so?"

"Yeah, but if you tell anyone that I've been a sentimental bitch about this, I'll hate you."

When Laxus turned to look at his friend, Freed was looking down at the empty plate on his lap, desperately trying not to cry.

Laxus gulped. "Yo. Freed. You okay?"

"I-It's nothing." - that was followed by a sniff.

"Shit, you're going to cry."

"I wanna stab you with this fork..."

Laxus gaped. "Dude, I was trying to cheer you up! Don't cry! I can't handle this-"

"You're stupid! You just kept talking and... and you don't even know..." - this time Freed was really crying, but he was trying to wipe his tears with his sleeve.

"Shit. I'm sorry, okay? I know I don't even know how you feel, I get it. I'm as stupid as this secret guy of yours so just forget everything I said-"

Laxus tried to pat his friend on the shoulder comfortingly, but Freed swatted his hand away. He sobbed, not really knowing why he was crying in the first place.

_'Damn Laxus for being so unexpectedly understanding!' _his mind screamed. He never expected to hear those things from Laxus. Never in his life did he think that Laxus would ever… ever tell him-…

That was the straw for Freed. He looked away from the blonde and said, "Of course you'll be as stupid as him! You're him! I've been talking about you for the past hour, and-... ugh. Fuck, you really made me say it, didn't you?!"

Laxus stared at him. "Did... Did you just say FUCK?"

Freed was really sobbing now, inching away from his companion, frustrated. "Get your goddamned priorities straight, Dreyar! I just confessed to you, you stupid-... Dammit, would you just please tell me to go away now because you don't love me back!"

"No, why the fuck would I-... and don't be a know-it-all - how the hell do you know I don't love you back?"

Freed stopped."...W-What do you mean?"

"Shut up, I have to find the fucking tissues, I can't think straight when you're sobbing like that."

After a few awkward moments of Freed crying and Laxus turning his room upside down for his box of tissues, he finally gave up and handed Freed one of his handkerchiefs. The bassist gingerly took the item and tried to calm himself down.

Laxus sat in front of him again. "Feeling better now?"

Freed nodded, face half-covered by the cloth. However, right after he blew his nose on the hanky, he started crying again.

"What now?!" Laxus practically shouted.

Freed was sobbing helplessly, "I have my own handkerchief in my pocket and I still made you give me yours and I blew on it...!"

Laxus rolled his eyes and sighed, then did what he always saw Bixlow and Freed do whenever Evergreen cried like a madwoman. He held out his arms and said, "Here. Do you need a hug? C'mon, you have to calm down or everyone downstairs will hear you and they'll all hate me all over again."

Freed looked at him disbelievingly. "I can't hug you. I'm already in love with you! How could I hug you?! Why are you so understanding? You're making it more difficult for me to calm down! Stop that!"

Laxus had forgotten how little sense Freed made when he cried. Freed didn't cry often but they hated it when he did. For good reason. "Fine, but stop crying."

"I need a hug."

"Yeah, I just said that." Laxus sighed and simply hugged the other man as Freed cried quietly against his chest.

It was an awkward hug. Laxus wasn't used to hugging, and Freed was reluctant to lean against the blonde. They stayed like that for minutes. Laxus still didn't know what to say and Freed was trying to think straight.

"Why are you hugging me?"

"You asked for it, and you were crying. Why the hell did you cry? I can't deal with crying people, for fuck's sake, Freed."

Freed closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "I've already decided, you know. Years back. I already knew I'll never tell you. It was like my goal in life. To never tell you. Then... then you practically asked me, dammit. And you made it seem like it wouldn't be so bad... but I'm sure it'll be bad but I said it anyway. Because you asked. Why did you have to ask?"

"I didn't ask." Laxus said simply. "I was suggesting something stupid, and I said it was stupid... and you knew it was stupid anyway so why did you still do it?"

"Because it's you."

"That makes you stupid, too."

"I know, and it sucks." Freed said, finally chuckling. He felt better. He didn't know if it was Laxus hugging him, if it was him finally telling Laxus how he felt, or if it was just Laxus knowing everything, but Freed felt better.

He made a move to pull back from the other man's arms, but Laxus held him still and said, "Wait."

Freed blinked. "...Laxus?"

"I'm about to do something stupid again."

"...Uh... what?"

"And after I do that, you can either punch me or... or do whatever."

"Laxus, what are you-"

And Freed wasn't able to continue, because how could he when Laxus' lips were locked against his own?

Bixlow was right. Laxus had never had any experience with anyone before. It was obvious, Freed thought - the kiss was sloppy, it was simply a pair of lips pressed firmly against another person's, but to hell with everything, he responded anyway.

Laxus was surprised when Freed moved against him. He felt the bassist's hands reach up to touch his cheeks. Laxus didn't think it would feel good. It made the blonde feel even stupider as he followed Freed's lead. He really had no idea how to do this. It made him feel so lost. But he didn't mind feeling lost. Not when the Freed tasted like chocolate cake. Shit. Now he was tasting things. Ah, fuck that too. Not like he cared, either. Laxus simply pulled his friend closer, because Freed knew what he was doing and Laxus liked it.

When they parted for breath, both of them had a look of disbelief on their faces.

"Uh-"

Freed punched Laxus.

"Ow."

"I'm sorry, but you said I could punch you, so I did."

"Didn't hurt that much."

He punched Laxus again.

"Shit... that one does."

Laxus had to let go so he could rub his cheek. Freed drew away from him and stood up, blushing and disheveled, trying to straighten his shirt.

"That wasn't a minor bitchslap." Laxus said.

Freed avoided his gaze. "Why… Why the hell did you do that?"

"Sorry."

"What are you saying sorry for?"

"...For doing that."

"You're... you're sorry for that?"

Laxus scratched his head, looking down. "No, I'm sorry I hurt you."

Laxus never liked talking about feelings and emotions, but Freed knew that it wasn't because Laxus didn't understand those things. Laxus didn't understand WHY people could question or confuse feelings, because Laxus was never confused or conflicted. Laxus always knew how he felt and why he felt those things... and it baffled him to the point of annoyance when other people couldn't understand themselves.

So when he said all those things earlier, about how he would feel if someone confessed to him, Freed knew that Laxus would stand up to everything he said about feeling sorry and thankful... about the mixed bag.

So now Laxus was sorry that he hurt Freed. Freed knew that he meant it.

The green-haired young man took a step backwards, looking down. He saw Laxus' can of beer by his feet and tried to focus on it, just to avoid his friend's gaze. "It's nothing. I told you, right? I'm kinda used to it by now. Don't feel sorry."

"Well, you should know how I feel. I told you a while ago. Before even really knowing. Pretty fucking weird, but... well, that's it."

"Why did you... kiss me?"

"It doesn't really matter to me and I wasn't really savin' it for anyone," Laxus started, lifting his head to look at his companion. "But that was my first kiss, and I just gave it to you, because you care about me so much, and I didn't even know, but you didn't care. So if it matters to you anyway that I gave you that... Well, that was me sayin' thanks."

Freed had nothing to say to that.

"If it didn't work, maybe I'll just give you five more jars of chocolate fudge." Laxus shrugged. "And I'm sorry that it all sucks right now, 'cause I have no idea how to deal with all these stuff. I'm starting to regret that I ever asked you about your date, but there's no helping that now so... yeah."

Freed simply nodded to all of that. Suddenly he felt so tired. It had been a really long day for him and while he didn't feel empty anymore, he felt too... full. He knew that if he stayed with Laxus for another minute, he might just throw a fit. It would be immature, but he was so confused and tired and surprised and...

And he really didn't want to deal with anything more.

"Dude, you okay?"

Freed shook his head. "No."

"I thought so."

"I want to punch you again because I don't know what to do now."

"Go ahead."

Freed tried, but he just ended bumping his fist lightly against the other man's face. "You shouldn't have done that, you know?"

"But I've never seen you so down, and it's because of me for who knows how long now-"

"I'm used to being sad. I can't deal with being confused." Freed said, biting his lip. Laxus was about to touch the hand still fisted against his face, but Freed drew away. "I just want to go home now."

"Should I-"

"No, please. I'll be alright-"

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I... I'll just go say goodbye to the others and I'm leaving."

"What's the rule here? Should I stay away for a week or something...?"

"No. Laxus," Freed started. He was determined to sound firm, but he quickly gave up and simply sighed, softly saying, "I'd appreciate it if everything stays the same after this."

Laxus nodded, looking down at his bed. Freed took that as his cue to leave.

* * *

Bixlow was having a very normal night. Cuddled against his giant unicorn stuffed toy, he was having a tub of his favorite ice cream while watching the new OVA bundled with the manga of his favorite anime series. He had been waiting for this OVA for a while now - it featured his favorite ladies in swimsuits! Bixlow happily continued watching, all the while savoring the creamy ice cream that he had tricked Evergreen into buying for him.

He sniggered. One of the girls had even forgotten to remove her swim suit's price tag! How cute~

The knocking on the door interrupted his gushing. Bixlow groaned as he paused the show and stood up. If that was the neighbor again, complaining about the volume of his TV-...

"Laxus?"

Laxus grunted. "Hey."

Bixlow blinked, very confused. "But I don't have weed right now."

"I'm not here for weed." The blonde rolled his eyes and then looked at the TV. "Man, how does her swimsuit hold all those... things... up?"

Bixlow looked behind him to see that he had paused the show on a part where one of the particularly busty girls was running around while in her bikini. "I don't know. Super Glue?"

"Let me in."

Bixlow did as he was told. "Okay, but don't step on my Perfect Grade Gundam-"

"Yeah, yeah." Laxus (and Freed and Evergreen) knew better than to step inside Bixlow's dorm room carelessly. They watched every step, because there was bound to be precious merchandise scattered everywhere. Laxus was able to avoid the half-built Gundam model and plop down on one of the bean bags. Thankfully it wasn't the bean bag with the fart cushion.

Bixlow closed the door behind him and sat down with his unicorn again. He picked up his ice cream while Laxus got out a cigarette and started smoking.

"Hey, the limit here's-"

"One stick. Yeah, I know."

"Well, it-"

"-will make the whole room smell. I know, dude."

Bixlow finally nodded approvingly. "Okay, so... did Mama confess his undying love to you yet?"

Laxus shrugged. "Yeah. He finally did."

"Then you sweeped him off his feet and gave him the kiss of his life!"

"He told you?"

An awkward silence followed. Bixlow looked at his bandmate. Laxus was smoking... normally. It was the only word that Bix could describe his friend with. Laxus was... normal. Acting normally, answering normally, even nonchalantly...

Bixlow laughed shakily. "D-Dude, I was kidding. You don't have to play along if you don't want to... Hahahah..."

Laxus blinked.

This time, Bixlow gaped. "NO, SHIT. SERIOUSLY?!"

The blonde shrugged again. "You should use those guessing skills for gambling. You'd be rich."

"W-W-Wait, okay, this is Freed we're talkin' about, yeah?"

"Hn."

"He told you?!"

"Kinda."

"What do you mean kinda?!"

"I... I think I made him tell me."

"Then...?"

"Then I kinda kissed him."

This time Bixlow put his ice cream down. "What do you mean kinda?!"

"Okay, we kinda made out."

"Whoa wait, what do you mean kinda made out?"

Laxus looked at his friend pointedly.

Bixlow took matters into his own hands and crossed his arms across his chest. "I'm banning the use of the word 'kinda' within the four corners of this room from this point forward. So what really happened?"

"Uh, kissing."

"And then..?"

"He punched me. Twice-.. wait. Three times."

"Why?"

"I dunno, 'cause it made him upset?"

"Then after he punched you...?"

"He left."

"You let him?"

"Of course I let him. He's upset because of me."

Bixlow breathed out, trying to wrap his head around everything_ (which is not much, because according to Laxus, it just went like Confession! - Kissing! - Three punches! - Exit!)_ and actually trying to think about it_ (which was hard, because it was not easy to imagine stuff like that)_.

Laxus mostly kept quiet, looking at a poster of a team of five magical girls in the wall.

The drummer finally spoke up again. "Well, nothing screams _confession_ more than three consecutive punches in the face. Must stand for _I LOVE YOU_, man."

"Didn't hurt, really. Freed couldn't punch to save his life."

"But you're lucky he didn't have a sword in hand."

"That," Laxus said, blowing a puff of smoke. "I can agree with."

"So was it awesome?"

"What's awesome?" Laxus raised an eyebrow at his friend. Bixlow had picked his ice cream up again and had started listening intently. He hated to admit it, but watching Laxus confused and trying to describe Freed was better than watching all those pretty girls in swimsuits. Tonight was his lucky night.

"Freed?"

"Tasted like chocolate cake. Didn't know I was supposed to taste stuff-... Is it really like that?"

"Well, if you stuck your tongue on someone else's mouth, you WILL taste-"

"I didn't-... Maybe I did. But I didn't... I wasn't-... Maybe it's just because he ate so much of that fucking cake."

"I heard that Mama is a really good kisser and-"

"Yeah, it seemed like it. Shut up now. I'm trying to think."

"Think about what? Marry him already, geez, it's so simple-"

"Fuck you. He doesn't want me to marry him."

"Eh..?"

"At least it doesn't seem like he wants to. And I... I don't like him like that."

"Why'd you kiss him then?"

"To thank him or something. To say sorry too, 'cause shit, everyone knew. Except me. Nobody ever bothered to tell me."

"Dude, I've been calling you Mama and Papa for years and I've been telling you to get together already and hey, back in Chapter 11, I told you to tell him you love him."

Laxus' eyes narrowed.

"The whole Mama-Papa thing is a dead giveaway, ya know. I'm always telling you how much he loves you but nobody believes me." by then, Bixlow was sulking.

Laxus thought about it. "...But you guys are kidding, right? And Freed plays along to shut you up, so I just... go along with you guys-"

"'Cause he knows that if he blushes and stutters whenever you call him your waifu, that's as good as actually telling you." Bixlow said, not holding back on anything. "Hed be busted. You'd know. He doesn't want to tell you, though wow, you made him tell you and for some reason it worked so uh... Congratulations?"

"What're you congratulatin' me for?"

Bixlow giggled in that creepy way of his. "This ship is soooooo _canon_~!"

Laxus grabbed the nearest thing he could and threw it at his friend's face. Thankfully for Bixlow, it was just a body pillow (of a very cute little squid that turned into a girl) and not one of his precious mecha models or action figures.

"Hey, don't be rude! This is my room, don't throw my stuff!" Bixlow complained, setting the pillow aside with a pout. "Did you come here just so you could tell me and then get all violent? You're acting like a spoiled imouto-chan, then."

"I had to tell someone, because I kept thinking about it alone, and it just pissed me off, 'cause I can't get it out my head."

"Oooohhhh, someone's falling in looooove~"

"That's it. Press the fucking play button on this... whatever this is you're watching."

"Psssh. Someone's denyiiiing…"

They watched the rest the OVA while Laxus complained about extra strong bikinis and how the girls must be super strong too, to be able to lift those hefty bumpers up, and Bixlow just squealed and giggled at how ~kawaii~ everything was.

Laxus helped his friend clean up. After that, he grabbed the latest volume of one of the few manga he followed (Bixlow was always updated, and they liked that fact very much) and began to read, while Bixlow returned to building the half-finished Gundam model that Laxus had barely avoided stepping on earlier.

After a while, Bixlow spoke up. "Y'know, Freed really loves you, man. You'd think he's just being his paranoid self when he worries and fusses over you, but he never does that to me and Ever."

"I know."

"And you have like anger management issues and a violent streak to top all violent streaks and you throw temper tantrums to end all temper tantrums, and whenever that happens, me and Ever just go away as soon as possible, but Freed just... you know, he stays. Puts up with your shit, doesn't get mad when you don't listen to him and he just stands there. Pretty crazyballs."

"I know. You'd think he'd know better."

"So at least tell him that he kisses good, y'know. A little appreciation for the most patient human being on Earth."

Laxus glared at his friend. "You know when sometimes someone gives out this really meaningful speech that makes sense but he ends up ruining it himself?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You just did it. So shut up now."

"Wow, rude." Bixlow pouted, then went back to his activity. At least it was all out. He had said what he had wanted to say.

After a few more minutes, Laxus considered lighting up another cigarette, but then decided against it. He had already ruined Bixlow's peaceful night just to hang out and get his mind off of things. He knew he should have gone to Mira's and gotten drunk with Macao and Wakaba, or better yet, if Cana was there, he should have just started drinking with her. But then that was too risky. Cana could make you blurt out your deepest and darkest secrets while she was having her fifth barrel of beer. She was crazy fun, but you would never drink with her with the intention of getting drunk. It was too dangerous.

Laxus should have gotten some iced coffee, because he couldn't forget the taste of chocolate cake.

It was from Yajima-san's, too. So it was crazy delicious, but Laxus had to admit that there was something other than the cake there.

"Oi, Bixlow."

"Yeah?"

"What should I do if I decide that I actually liked kissing Freed?"

"Kiss him some more, duh."

Laxus glared.

"I'm kidding! Ya sure you liked it not because of the chocolate cake?"

"Never remembered chocolate cake tasting that good, not even Yaji-jii's."

"Ah. Well, I have this saying I learned from-"

"If you're going to mess with me, better think twice."

Bixlow paused, frowning. "It's a saying I learned in my Philosophy class! It's from Confucius! Dude, I listen to lectures sometimes, ya know?"

Laxus sighed. "Fine, what does Confucius have to say about all this shit?"

Bixlow nodded sagely, even raising his index finger to indicate that he was about to say something really really important. He cleared his throat.

"Dude. Just say it." Laxus said.

Bixlow made a very good impression of an old sage, complete with the raspy old-person voice. He said, _"If ye likes it, then you shouldeth put a ring on it."_

Laxus stared. "I'm sure as hell that that ain't Confucius."

"It is. I get deep sometimes, man."

Laxus knew he should have gone to Evergreen instead.

* * *

Freed was very thankful that Laxus had respected his wish. It really was like nothing happened that Saturday night. The next week was as normal as normal could get. Projects, lectures, free times, some band practice, it was all well. Within the week, Evergreen bugged Freed about why he broke up with the guy he had been dating for 3 months. When Freed finally explained, Evergreen understood immediately. If only Laxus was as perceptive as their vocalist and had stopped asking before the conversation strayed...

He shrugged it off. Laxus was acting normally, as well. Bixlow kept on going about a movie they should all see together in the weekend, and they all just told their drummer that _'We'll see about it, okay?'_. Bix insisted that Freed wouldn't have a date on the weekend anymore so he also wouldn't have an excuse to not go with all of them. Laxus and Evergreen complained about the drummer simply assuming that the two of them had already agreed to go.

The band had a free period together on Friday. They all sat under a cherry tree in the university grounds. Bixlow was reading manga, Laxus was working on a particularly hard equation in one of his subjects while Evergreen was on her laptop, browsing through an online shop. Freed was reading through one of his thick hardbound law books.

Bixlow blurted out, "I want chocolates. Does anyone else want chocolate? Let's go buy some-"

"I have some." Freed said.

The other three looked up. Freed got out a chocolate bar from his bag. It still had a ribbon on it.

Bixlow was quick to snigger. "Oooohhhh, someone's getting chocolates~"

"Shut up." Freed said, removing the ribbon and unwrapping the chocolate bar. He handed it to Bixlow, who accepted quickly. "Hey, leave some for everyone!"

"Okay, who was that from?" Evergreen asked curiously.

"It's someone from my Ethics class. No big deal."

"Word gets out that you're single again and they all come after you." Evergreen rolled her eyes.

"Mama's a heartbreaker." Bixlow said.

"He is." Evergreen agreed.

"Hey, no dates on Saturday! We're watching a movie!" the drummer reminded, passing the chocolate to Evergreen.

"There will be no dates. Don't worry." Freed reassured. Sometime in the morning, he finally agreed to Bixlow's movie invitation. "I turned her down."

"Oh." The three all said simultaneously. "Her."

"Her." Freed repeated firmly. Then, remembering something, he said, "Oh, and I have something for Laxus."

Bixlow quickly flailed. "A wedding ring! A wedding ring!" He stopped when Laxus hit him on the head with a notebook.

The chocolate was with Laxus as the blonde accepted the piece of paper that Freed handed him.

Bixlow was ecstatic for a while until Ever glared at him for being so noisy. "A love let-... Okay, I'm shutting."

Laxus unfolded the paper and blinked. "Hey, you finished it." On either side of him, Bixlow and Evergreen leaned together to read the contents of the paper.

"Sorry it took me two weeks for the lyrics." Freed said with a light smile. "I adjusted the bass part and left your lead as is."

"Please don't tell me you wrote this after the break-up." Evergreen said.

Bixlow said, "Mama is Taylor Swift."

"Hit him for me." Freed commented nonchalantly.

Laxus had the honor of granting the request. Bixlow whined something about marriage again, but Laxus and Evergreen were already reading the new song and Freed was too busy watching their expressions.

"I wrote it after the break-up but it's not about the break-up, I swear." he said, still watching his bandmates reading.

"I like it." Evergreen smiled, pleased.

"Hey, you added a keyboard part." Laxus said, looking up at Freed.

"I had a melody that matched your riffs for the lead, so... Is that okay?"

Laxus nodded. "Yeah, it's fine."

"No drums again? AGAIN?" Bixlow complained.

They all looked at him and said, "We trust you."

Bixlow grunted. "I'm going a make a sick beat for that, just you see."

They simply repeated, "Yeah, we trust you."

Bixlow didn't know whether to believe them or not.

They all decided to have a band practice the next day, with all members eager to try out the new song.

Freed didn't show up.

He left a text for the other three saying that something important came up and that he couldn't come.

The other three practiced for a bit, but like every other time, they just didn't like practicing when someone was missing. They all ended up quitting and going to Mira's to eat out instead.

Mira immediately asked, "Where's Freed?"

"Something important, he said." Evergreen explained as they all sat down in front of the barmaid. "It's not much fun without him, so we just went here."

"That's sweet." Mira said. "But what could be keeping him?"

Bixlow slumped down in his seat. "It must be really really really really important, 'cause he didn't answer even when Laxus called."

"Nah, he can deal with it." Laxus brushed the topic away dismissively.

"You're cruel, Papa!" Bixlow said. "When you don't show up, Freed goes looking for you."

"Yeah, well, I'm different. I get myself in big trouble so he goes looking. But he's not as stupid so I'm sure he'd call if he needs us."

Bixlow grumbled and Evergreen simply sighed, while Mira smiled knowingly. "So... what are your orders?"

The group ordered light meals. Mira entertained them with conversation, but it was mostly Evergreen and Bixlow who answered. It wasn't new. The barmaid had always known that the blonde only ever talked when he felt like doing so.

Evergreen left early with Elfman. The couple decided to take a stroll in the park. Bixlow also left early to catch an episode of a TV series. That left Laxus sitting alone in the bar while adjusting their new song. He was sure Freed wouldn't mind much if he changed a little bit of the keyboard stuff...

He was interrupted when Mira laid a tall glass in front of him.

Iced Coffee. Laxus looked up. "I didn't-"

"It's in the house. You seldom drop by." Mira said, smiling.

He put down his pen, accepting the barmaid's treat. "Thanks." Just then, Laxus noted the vase full of flowers by the counter. "Did Freed give you those flowers?"

Mira looked at the flowers and smiled. "Yes. He dropped by last Sunday."

Laxus paused. That was the day after... what happened. Did Freed tell Mira? He always tells Mira... "Sunday?"

"Yup! He was picking up something from the bookstore and decided to visit! It's too bad, though, that he broke up with his boyfriend..."

Laxus simply nodded. "He... didn't tell you anything else except that?"

Mira blinked. "Um, he told me they broke it off but they're still good friends. Why, did something else happen?"

"No. Uh, just curious. A bit. 'Cause, y'know, he told me-… us-… the band about that, too." Laxus said, avoiding the barmaid's look as he stirred his drink. He turned back to studying the new song again.

"It's just so sad, because Freed's the sweetest guy I know but somehow he couldn't stay in a good, lasting mutual relationship..."

Laxus paused on his writing for a bit and glanced at Mirajane. The barmaid was focused on drying some plates and she seemed to be simply babbling to herself. Laxus looked down at his paper again when Mira turned to him.

"Laxus?"

"Hn."

"...You know, don't you?"

"Know what?"

"You know what."

Laxus looked up. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"You do." Mira said sternly.

Laxus rolled his eyes. "What, I know that Freed's been in love with me and I didn't know until last Saturday and he's pretty stupid, really, falling for someone who's been treating him - well, _everybody_, actually - like shit?"

Mira blinked. "How... how did you know?"

"He told me."

"He never wanted to tell you. What happened?"

"I don't have an idea. We were talking and it just... came out."

"What did you tell him?"

"What do you think I told him?"

"What did he say?"

"He just said that he wants things to stay the same. We're doin' good about that so far."

Mira was looking at him with an unreadable expression. "That's why he didn't tell me. So nothing would change. Right?"

"I suppose so."

The barmaid sighed, her gaze automatically falling on the flowers by the counter. Freed had learned how to be a smooth liar. She had no idea that something so... big... had happened the night before he visited.

Laxus let the conversation end there.

After a few minutes, Laxus had finished the iced coffee and the adjustments on the new song. He folded the paper and put it in his pocket, before standing up. He was just about to head home.

"Hey, Mira. Thanks for the-"

He trailed off when the barmaid suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to her level, looking into his eyes fiercely.

"-coffee..."

Her voice was far from her usual kind and angelic tone. "Listen, Dreyar, you _bastard_."

Laxus gulped. What the fuck did he do to call Demon Mirajane out?!

"Why did you fucking reject the only person who puts up with your all your crap?"

"...Err, I don't know, I'm figuring that bit out-"

"Freed is one of my best friends and he's the sweetest guy in all of Magnolia and if you. Screw. This. Shit. Up._ I am going to make you pay_." Then she released him and all of a sudden she was back in her usual cute self. "...Get it? I'll ban you from this bar and there will be no more free iced coffee for you! I'm going to hate you so much~!"

It creeped him out when she said those things in her sweet angel voice. "Y-Yeah. Banned. No free drinks. Got that."

Both of them turned when a crashing sound was heard in a corner of a bar. It was followed by loud cheers and a man standing on top of a table, waving a bright blue bra in the air proudly, as if said article of clothing was a trophy.

"What the fuck just happened?" Laxus asked under his breath.

"Cana lost to Bacchus again." Mirajane sighed. "She's probably out cold now. Ahhh, I told her not to challenge him anymore!"

* * *

Laxus really didn't know how he had gotten himself into this situation.

Oh yeah, it was because Cana lost that drinking contest (she really never learned), they couldn't wake her up and it was already late.

Mira called Gray, but the young man had just gotten home too, dead tired from a shift in the Pegasus. He said he could come, but he would take time as he wasn't around the town anymore.

The next option was Gildarts, but the man wasn't answering his phone.

Laxus sighed and said that he would take the girl to her father. Gildarts' station was on the way to the Dreyar household anyway. Laxus was sober because all he had to drink was the free coffee, so Mira and Gray simply entrusted the passed out brunette to him.

Of course, he blatantly refused to touch the young woman unless "_somebody fucking put a shirt on this girl BECAUSE I AM NOT BRINGING HER TO GILDARTS WHILE SHE'S DRUNK AND TOPLESS. I VALUE MY LIFE."_

Laxus walked the streets of Magnolia with Cana riding piggy back. She was still fast asleep and she almost slipped sometimes, so he had to adjust every now and then.

"High school and already drunk dead." Laxus grumbled.

After a few moments, Cana stirred. "...Uh... who's this..."

Laxus grunted when roaming hands made their way to touch his face and pull at his hair. "Hey!"

"Not Gray, not Gildarts-... S-s-shit, I think I got kidnapped..." she hiccupped, but for someone who just realized that she had been kidnapped, she sounded awfully calm.

"Shut up. You passed out after Bacchus-"

"Yeah, I hate that guy kidnapper-san where are we going oh my god I'm going to get raped am I."

"Shit, no."

Finally, she seemed to realize what she was saying. She started to wriggle off his back and started screaming on his ear. "Aaaaahhhh, I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED I'M GOING TO GET RAPED HELP ME!"

"Oi, stop that!" Laxus shouted back. "It's Laxus, you stupid drunk!"

"Ahhhh-... Laxus." Cana said, peering her head to look at the guy's face. She squinted. She was seeing double, but there was no mistaking the lightning-shaped scar. "Oh. Laxus." She then relaxed and simply clung to him, burying her head on his shoulder. "Yay, I'm safe. Unless you dump me in the nearest trash bin. Haha."

Laxus snorted.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To your father, because fuck, I'm not walking to your flat at this hour of the night and I don't have money for a cab."

"Hmmm." Cana said, grumbling. Her head was killing her and she was feeling really dizzy.

Laxus walked in silence for a while, as the brunette on his back had started snoring lightly again.

After a few moments, Cana spoke up. "Hey, Natsu."

"Laxus."

"Oh yeah. Laxus."

"What?"

"Please don't take me to Gildarts."

Laxus stopped, trying to peek at the girls' face. She was struggling to stay awake. "Where do you want me to take you then?"

"Uh... to Gray?"

"No. Too far."

"To... uh... ummmm... to Natsu's, then."

"Still far. My last stop will be my own house, so pick something that's on the way."

"Urgh... killjoy. Um... Juvia."

"You sure?"

Cana shook her head. "No, she's on the seventh floor. Just... Lucy. Same building, third floor."

Laxus sighed. It added a few more minutes to the time he'd be carrying her, but he guessed he should just bear with it. He had already volunteered to help, so he might as well just do it. "Fine."

Cana gave him a little grateful squeeze. "Thanks. You're the best world in the whole Pikachu."

"You mean best Pikachu in the whole world, right?"

"Yeaaaahhhh~"

"Call me Pikachu again and I'm gonna drop you to that trash bin."

"Pikachu." Cana said, then giggled and said, "Nah, I'm kidding... Sorryyyyy..."

"Why don't you want to go to your dad's, anyway?"

"I don't want him to see me like this."

"You're always drunk anyway. What's new?"

"Y'know, he always tells me to... uh... moderation. Drink. Not much. Uh-... Drink moderately. That. Says it's in the bottle and all. But I never listen. I'm soooo stubborn."

"You really should listen to him."

"Yeah, but I can't help it, y'know? It makes me feel bad... uh... bad, doing that to him. I'm such a disappointed."

"Disappointment."

"Yeah yeah that."

"Hate seein' Pops like that." Cana mumbled sleepily. "Tryin' so hard to love me and do me good but I can't even give back with the same effort, y'know."

"Try to quit the drinkin', then. Seriously, you're too young to be alcoholic."

"Dunno. Can't. Just... I've been me so long so... hard to change that."

She was right. Quitting would be hard for her. She relied on it back then, so she needed a little more time. It wouldn't be the easiest thing to do.

"Just tell him that you're trying." Laxus said.

"Hmmm... he might get impatient. 'Cause you know. I'll take loooooong. How come people try to just... hurt themselves or something, yeah? Keepin' up on loving someone who's so.. so... bad. Who keep doing bad. And sometimes I treat him bad. Pretty shitty."

"Hn."

"I'm usually okay. With him. We're usually good. Sometimes, though... I... screw up. Like now, yeah? When I screw up... I don't want him to know."

Laxus chuckled. "Just treat him better. To make up for it."

"I'm tryin'. Just that... sometimes... y'know. Thinking that someone's too good for 'ya. You don't deserve 'em. They're so off better with others."

"Better off."

"That. Smartypants."

"Kinda understanding you now." Laxus said.

"The fuck are you talking about. Stop shitting me." Cana grumbled. "You don't understand. You're like this meanie who nothing feels-"

"Feels nothing."

"-and heartless. You. Heartless. And issues. Issues with everything and you're mean to... people. And you're... ummm... you're angry. Always angry. You don't understand me. 'Cause you're mean. I'm not mean."

"No, I mean with the not deserving bit."

"Oh. Yeah. Freed's such an angel and there you are. Haha. Major... uh... jerk. You're a jerk. No offense."

"I get it, don't shove it in my face."

"It sucks, yeah?"

"What?"

"Y'know... they're good. They don't even try. They just... love us for beer knows what reason... and... we're this. And... that's as get as it goods."

"As good as it gets."

"Yeah, wow, you're so smart~"

"And you're drunk."

Laxus grunted. What the hell. Of all the people he had talked to, the deepest conversation (and the one that made the most sense) so far was with a drunk eighteen year-old.

The world really worked in mysterious ways sometimes.

* * *

Laxus almost wanted to take a picture of Lucy when she opened the door to see him with a drunken Cana riding piggy-back. He simply shrugged it off as he followed Lucy's instructions to lay Cana on the couch. The brunette was already fast asleep. Lucy thanked him for getting the brunette to her safely, even though she obviously didn't expect the company. Laxus also ignored the fact that Natsu's blue cat was in Lucy's apartment.

He declined the other blonde's offer to stay a while and have coffee. He just wanted to go home.

When he got home, however, he was the one surprised to see his grandfather seeing Freed off.

He stood by the house's gates just as Freed bowed to Makarov. Both of them stood by the front door.

Makarov saw his grandson first. "Oh. You're home."

"Laxus." Freed smiled. Laxus was annoyed to realize that only now did he notice how Freed always brightened up at the sight of him.

"Hey. I'm... uh... from Mira's." Laxus replied. "Why're you here?"

"We just had a nice chat." Makarov answered smoothly. Laxus knew that his grandfather just hid something from him. "Freed's going home now, since it's late and all."

"Well… Okay." Laxus said, looking at his friend.

Freed nodded at Makarov politely before heading out. He stopped by the gates, just beside Laxus. "Sorry, I wasn't able to practice. Things came up."

"It's... fine, I guess."

"I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

Laxus didn't know what to say. He was still confused - why was Freed in his house and what was he talking about with his grandfather? "Yeah. Uh, tomorrow."

"Bye." Freed said, acting very normal, so Laxus couldn't tell what was really up. Laxus simply watched as Freed walked down the street, pulling his jacket close to fight off the cold.

Laxus turned to his grandfather. Makarov was looking expectantly at him.

"Well..?" The old man said.

"I-... Uh-... What- Why-..."

Makarov raised an eyebrow. "Real articulate, Laxus."

Laxus scratched his head, pointing at the direction his friend headed towards. "That was Freed, right?"

"Who else would that be?"

Laxus started to walk towards the front door, still baffled.

Makarov frowned. "Now I'm disappointed."

But Laxus, self-admittedly, had pride enough to power a whole town – he wouldn't let his grandfather just say that. "No, you're not."

He went inside the house, dumped his guitar in the couch, grabbed his coat and went out again. Makarov watched his grandson leave. The blonde stopped by the gate and said, "Don't lock the front door." before disappearing again.

Makarov smirked, pleased that Laxus still had some fight in him after all. "Heh. You'd have to get in through your window."

* * *

"Freed!"

The green-haired college student stopped walking, hearing the familiar voice calling out to him. Laxus was running towards him, just a few blocks away.

Freed raised an eyebrow and waited for the blonde. "Laxus? Did I forget something?"

"Hell yeah, you did. You forgot to tell me what the fuck is going on." Laxus said, panting.

Freed chuckled. "I planned to tell you guys tomorrow, but oh well, since you're here and all..."

Laxus panted one last time before standing up straight again. "I'll walk you to the station."

The bassist simply nodded and they walked together.

"So what's so important that you missed band practice and you had to talk to gramps about it?"

"My parents found out."

Laxus looked down at his companion. Freed was smiling a little sad smile. "...that?"

"That I'm gay. They were in my flat a while ago and... well, I can say that I've had nicer conversations with them."

"So what happened?"

"They weren't happy about it. As expected."

"And...?"

"They said... a lot of things."

Laxus stopped walking and grabbed his friend by the elbow. He looked at Freed carefully. "Hey, did they hurt you?"

"Not... not that much, of course it sucks that your own parents can't accept you..." Freed said. "Dad slapped me."

"Shit-"

Freed quickly cut his friend off, starting to walk again. "Mom stopped him from doing anything else. I'm alright. By the end of it, we've calmed down... even though they're still very upset. Dad was angry for the most part."

"So what happens to you now?"

Freed sighed, looking down. "I'm just lucky that they're not taking the flat back, and they want me to go on with university."

"But they're mad at you."

"More disappointed than mad, really. Actually, they were so disappointed that they're almost not angry."

"So you'll still do fine, you still have the flat and they'll still pay for university?"

"Yeah." Freed nodded.

Laxus kept quiet, trying to get his friend to continue. When, after several blocks, Freed was still silent, the blonde finally asked, "What else?"

"They want to have me tested."

Laxus looked disgusted. That was inappropriate. "What the hell do they think you are? You don't sleep around like that!"

"Exactly why I don't have to worry about it." Freed said patiently. "I know the results would turn out fine."

"Still. So much for good parents."

"They just want to make sure."

"Anything else?"

"They said they'd tell my siblings. I don't know which of them would take that well yet." the bassist sighed. Laxus kept quiet, so he went on. "Mom says she'll stop getting me to dating agencies-"

"Good."

"-but she wants to meet my boyfriend."

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "You don't have a boyfriend."

"I told her that. But she said that if this ever goes out, and I have one, they should meet him, make sure he's... decent and everything. It's all about the reputation, really. They just discovered this... new thing about me... and already they're preparing it for possible publication. That's politics for you. They said they'd rather it be news than a scandal."

Laxus didn't speak. Freed noticed this and ignored it for a while. When it got too unbearable, the bassist took initiative on breaking the silence. "Laxus? What's wrong?"

"I... It just sucks."

Freed blinked. "What sucks?"

The blonde scratched his head. "Y'know... I finally thought about trying, then this happens and I'm out already."

"What are you talking about?"

"Us."

"What about us?"

"It sucks."

"…Laxus?"

"I liked kissing you, you know."

This time, Freed let a blush betray him. He stammered out a flustered. "W-W-What do you mean...?"

"I thought I'd... ask you. To... you know. Try this thing out. Maybe it works."

Freed looked at him. Laxus watched his friend's expression. Freed was hesitant and very much confused, but he asked, ever so gently - "Are... Are you...?"

"Yeah, I am. But you just said it. You need someone who can pass as trophy and..." - Laxus suddenly remembered Cana's words. "...and I'm this major jerk."

"Laxus-"

"I know you... loved me... even while I'm being a jerk. And I'm lucky that you didn't give up and stuff." he shrugged.

"Wait. If-... if you just thought about this because you felt bad after-"

"It's not because I felt bad rejecting you. It's... you know, everyone's been shouting at me that you've put so much into this. And I've put too little. I can't return all that right away, but I'll give back what I can. I know you think that I'm just thinking that I owe you something. 'Cause no one else will put up with my shit. Just you. And I'm not doing this because you're the only choice, either. I-... argh. Fuck, this shit always looked easier when others do it."

Freed was staring at him disbelievingly. "Laxus, you don't have to feel obligated-"

"That. I'm not feeling obligated, but I want to try this. I want to learn to love you like you love me-"

This time, Freed looked at the blonde in surprise. Laxus saw this and rubbed his temples.

"That was lame, right? I knew it sounded stupid in my head."

"N-No-…"

"Well… 'Cause… Look. I know that you love me not just 'cause I love you back, but because you just do. So I don't want to just love you back. I want to love you because I just do. Otherwise it's just unfair. That shit would be hard, but it's you, and you make things easy for me, and that's why I knew that maybe if I try-... if we try, it could work."

Freed stared.

Laxus quickly avoided his look. He couldn't believe he just said that. "And... and now I just said the L word so many times that I think I won't say it for another five years, so you'll have to bear with that. Sorry."

Freed sniffed.

"Don't cry. Shit, please don't cry."

That made Freed laugh instead. All signs of crying were gone, and he simply laughed. Laxus gaped at him. Is this his turn to be rejected?

"...I wouldn't expect anything romantic from you for the rest of your life." Freed said, smiling fondly. He still couldn't believe that Laxus said all of those. Freed felt so happy. It was like all the stress from the day and the past few weeks had just disappeared. Laxus didn't love him, but he wanted to. And that's more than Freed had ever asked for.

"I tried my best." Laxus grunted. "But that's all trash now, because it won't happen anyway."

"Why do you think that?" Freed asked.

"You don't need someone like me. You need someone really good, right?" Laxus said, frowning. Freed heard bitterness in his voice. "And I'm this. I'm just this jerk with temper tantrums, who never even really saw you for years. I've got pride as high as Mount Fuji and to top all of that off, I've got that shitty reputation too."

Freed looked up at his companion and saw Laxus, for the first time, disappointed with himself. The bassist then looked down as Laxus reached out to take his hand and gripped it tightly.

Laxus wanted to say something, and Freed waited. After a while, the blonde let go of his companion's hand, shoulders slumping.

"I'm just this, you know. And this... this is as good as it gets."

Freed smiled. "But it's the best."

Laxus shook his head. "No, it's not."

"It really is."

"But what about-"

Freed smiled. "Screw them. I choose you."

Laxus looked at him disbelievingly. Freed had literally struggled with his parents for what could have been the whole day, and was in risk of being hated by his whole family, but here he was, still choosing Laxus over everything.

"No, wait." Laxus blurted out, grabbing the other guy by the shoulders. "You're being stupid. You know that, right?"

Freed shrugged. "Still not as stupid as someone who never figured it out when everyone was already shoving facts in front of him."

"Your family will freak out."

"I'm used to crazy choices. You're one of them."

"Still."

"No takesie-backsies."

"So… we're actually-… Yeah?"

"Yes. I do believe you suggested it."

Laxus still couldn't believe that Freed still decided on this - on him. Nevertheless, he simply grunted and let go of his companion.

"Laxus?"

The blonde turned to see Freed, fist raised between them. "What?"

"Rock paper scissors."

"For what?"

"Just do it."

Freed played paper.

Laxus played rock.

Freed smirked proudly. "You're telling Bix and Ever."

"Why me?! No fucking way - rematch!"

"Don't be a coward."

Laxus groaned _'fine'_ under his breath and they finally resumed walking. Freed was still huddling close to his jacket and Laxus was sulking, already trying to think of how to break the news to their bandmates.

Hey, at least Freed looked very happy, and Laxus wouldn't have to worry about being banned from The Strauss'.

"Why were you in my house, then?"

"I had to ask for principal Makarov's advice on the thing about my family. I knew I could count on him if this went down. He helped me calm down."

"What did he say?"

"Oh, lots of things."

"...Really? No embarrassing stories about my childhood?"

"Shame, none. I'd have to go back to get those."

"You wouldn't."

Freed looked back at him and smiled. Then, he finally asked. "Why do you smell like beer?"

"Cana."

"You went drinking with Cana?"

"No. Cana passed out and I helped her get home."

Freed nodded. That sounded like Cana, alright. And if she was really drunk, then that must have been a whole lot of alcohol, so it justified the smell that stuck with Laxus.

The next moments were spent in silence. Neither of them felt any need to speak.

They stopped in front of the train station. The place was closed by then, but Freed had extra money for a cab. Laxus saw him off.

Freed kissed him before leaving (he was blushing red and Laxus realized that he liked seeing Freed blush. It was funny. And maybe cute, though he would have to revisit his definition of cute.).

As he watched the cab depart, Laxus shortly wondered if he would ever get used to Freed being good at something so... not him. Freed had always been meek and smart and a little snobbish, and Laxus never thought he would have so much… initiative.

It felt good, though. And this time, Laxus was sure, it was not because of the chocolate cake.

.

.

.

**A/N: **I should make a poll on who's the best character - is it Cana or Bixlow? These two are the unlikely Buddhas of this fic, seriously.

_Note: _It _IS_ canon! Light novel time~ Laxus is an unfeeling jerk with a heart of jerk and could throw out perv remarks but according to the girls who grew up with him (namely Erzaaaaaaa), he really was a good guy towards girls - no messing around or womanizing or replacing girlfriends every other day. Because of this, the FT girls were tempted to think that our blonde dragon slayer has his eyes on his captain. _Because who wouldn't fall for handsome and dashing Freed Justine?_

I tell you guys - Freed was hard to write. Laxus was even harder. I. Struggled. Very. Much. But I finished this shit and I'm proud. Bixlow, though, is a breath of fresh air.

_Another Note:_ The _"have his adopted babies"_ quote that Bix was referring to is actually from the _"Scott Pilgrim vs. The World"_ comics, which I worship._  
_  
_Yet Another Note:_ Yes, Bix has an Ika Musume body pillow. DO NOT. JUDGE._  
_

There's still a separate chapter for Laxus and for Bix. I can't wait to write them, but for the meantime, the next chapter is pretty much about our high-schoolers again.

.

**Next Chapter:  
"Lisanna"**

'Cause she's my angel.


End file.
